Competition Commission green-lights GEPF takeover of Lanseria Holdings

The Competition Commission yesterday recommended that the Tribunal approve a proposed transaction, whereby the Government Employee Pension Fund (GEPF), represented by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), intends to acquire Lanseria Holdings, without conditions.

The GEPF consists of a pension fund that is administered for the benefit of government employees. The GEPF, through the government owned asset management firm PIC, is invested in numerous sectors.

The acquiring group held an interest in Lanseria Holdings prior to the proposed transaction, while an owned PIC subsidiary ADR International Airports also owns a non-controlling interest in the Airports Company of South Africa. (ACSA).

ACSA controls OR Tambo International Airport (ORTIA), among others, which competes with Lanseria International Airport (LIA), which is controlled by Lanseria Holdings.

LIA handles cargo, charter and scheduled commercial flights. It facilitates commercial passenger flights between two local airports, King Shaka International Airport and Cape Town International Airport. LIA also has limited regional passenger flights and can handle aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 737.

“The Commission is of the view that the proposed transaction is unlikely to substantially lessen or prevent competition in any market since any information exchange concerns are mitigated by ongoing information exchange conditions from a previous merger involving the merging parties. The proposed transaction does not raise significant public interest concerns,” the Commission said in a statement.

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