Allexer Namundjembo
The Namibian Competition Commission (NaCC) has approved the merger between Achill Island Investments (Pty) Ltd and Silverlands Vineyards (Pty) Ltd under strict employment conditions.
The decision, published in a recent government gazette, requires the merged entity to protect jobs and maintain employee benefits for at least three years after the merger takes effect.
The approval was granted in terms of section 47(2)(e) of the Competition Act, 2003, which allows NaCC to consider employment stability when reviewing mergers.
The ruling prohibits merger-specific retrenchments and voluntary separation schemes intended to reduce staff numbers.
Employees must also remain on terms that are “not less favourable” on the whole than those in place before the merger.
NaCC chairperson Andreas Penda Ithindi said the conditions were designed to protect workers without discouraging business growth.
“The commission’s aim in imposing conditions is not to stifle consolidation, but to ensure that livelihoods are protected and that gains from transactions do not come at the cost of jobs,” he said.
The gazette further requires the merging parties to submit full employee registers to the NaCC within 14 days of implementation, provide advance notice of any proposed job cuts, and file compliance reports every six months during the three-year monitoring period.
The NaCC reserves the right to revoke approval if any conditions are breached or if misleading information was provided during the review.
Several other mergers this year were approved without conditions, including Africa Global Logistics Namibia & Baard Properties / Klein Elsenburg, Basalt Investments / Green Property Investments 65, Bima Holdings / Minet Namibia Insurance Brokers, Jaco Duvenhage / Walfish Electric, and K2024528179 / Barloworld. The Barloworld transaction was cleared unconditionally after the Commission found it would not reduce competition.
Not all proposals received the same outcome. The Commission blocked the merger between Whale Rock Cement (Cheetah Cement) and Schwenk Namibia, citing concerns about market dominance and reduced competition in the cement industry.
This year has seen a rise in merger activity, with the NaCC approving multiple transactions and applying more public interest criteria in its decisions.
In May, the NaCC approved 13 mergers in one sitting.
Ithindi said NaCC remains firm in protecting public interest.
“We will not hesitate to refuse or impose conditions on deals that, in our assessment, run contrary to the public interest,” he said.
