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Competition Commission blocks Sunset Bay-Jobling copper merger

By  |  February 15, 2012

The South African Competition Commission has blocked Sunset Bay Trading 368’s acquisition of Jobling Investments. Sunset Bay controls Copalcor, which distributes metals and semi-finished products; Jobling is the holding company of Maksal Tubes, which manufactures copper products. The merger was prohibited because the Commission found that it would increase concentration in the distribution of copper products, in a market where the merged entity would be the largest firm. Furthermore, the barriers to enter the distribution market would be entrenched by the vertical integration created by the merger, as access to the copper products is likely to be denied to rivals.

Source: Moneyweb