Comesa Competition Commission handling Carlsberg Malawi takeover
The Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa(Comesa) Competition Commission(CCC) has started handling the transaction between Groupe Castel, a company that has bought over 59 percent stakes from Carlsberg Malawi Limited, an associated company of dual-listed conglomerate Press Corporation Limited(CPL).
This comes after Groupe Castel has finalised the notification process of the acquisition of shares from Carlsberg Malawi.
CCC has, therefore, called upon any interested persons who wish to submit representations to the commission in regard to the proposed transaction to do so.
In a press statement released on Thursday, signed by the commission’s head of mergers and acquisitions Willard Mwemba, CCC has up to 120 days within which to make a determination on the transaction.
According to the statement, CCC has already engaged the Competition and Fair Trade Commission of Malawi(CFTC) and shall closely collaborate with them in arriving at a sound determination of the transaction.
According to information supplied to CCC by the companies, Carlsberg Malawi has operations in the country while Groupe Castel operates in more than one-member State, including the Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC) and Madagascar.
“In view of this, the transaction met the minimum requirement for merger notification to the regional competition authority. Transactions that do not meet the minimum requirement—those that are not likely to affect two or more member States are notified to national competition authorities,” it reads.
Under the Comesa Competition Regulations, all mergers, takeovers and acquisitions that involve companies operating in two or more Comesa member states and meet the stipulated merger notification thresholds are required to be notified to CCC.
CCC then determines if such transaction would have a significant effect on trade between the countries in the bloc and would not restrict competition in the common market thereby frustrating the single market objective.
In an interview, CFTC director of consumer welfare and education Lewis Kulisewa said the companies have just followed the law.
“According to the law, if a transaction involves more than two Comesa member States, it should be handled by Comesa,” he said.
Earlier PCL said Carlsberg Breweries A/S’s strategy aimed at delivering value from its strong positions in Western Europe and Asia, but not to run breweries in Africa while the privately owned French beverage company’s strategy is to concentrate in Africa as well as Europe.
However, Carlsberg Group signed a licence agreement with Groupe Castel to continue producing Carlsberg beer in Malawi for the next 10 years.
Groupe Castel was established in Bordeaux in 1949 by nine siblings and it has established presence in 130 countries. n
