The Competition Commission continuously strives to improve the efficiency of their processes.
Drawing on feedback from diverse stakeholders, internal recommendations and best practices from global counterparts, the commission has identified various ways to improve the efficiency of merger filing and review processes.
As such, the commission has decided to establish a voluntary, informal, nonbinding, confidential premerger filing consultation process. The aim is to facilitate the efficient and timely assessment of merger transactions once they are formally filed.
The commission has developed a draft framework for the premerger filing consultations and gazetted it last week as draft guidelines. As required by law, the commission now seeks input from stakeholders on the suggested framework.
Why has this framework been developed?
Certain issues can arise during the merger assessment process that could be identified and addressed by merger parties prior to the filing of a proposed merger transaction.
If appropriate remedies are tendered upfront, this may focus the merger assessment process and facilitate an expeditious review.
Under this new framework, the seller of a target firm, for example, may approach the commission when structuring a proposed transaction to gain insight into the factors that the commission would consider in identifying whether the proposed transaction is likely to raise competition or public interest concerns, or occasion remedies which could prolong the merger assessment.
The premerger filing consultation process is intended to provide an opportunity for merger parties and/or sellers to clarify such issues in a constructive manner before formal notification.
By doing so, the commission anticipates that the assessment of transactions, once filed, can proceed more efficiently and without unnecessary delays, thereby expediting the overall merger review process.
It is envisaged that the premerger filing consultation process may, in the circumstances outlined above, help streamline the merger filing process.
A consultation process would enable a discussion between the commission and potential merger parties about what issues are likely to emerge during the merger consideration and, in certain instances, whether the parties should begin considering conditions that may resolve the likely issues.
This may ensure an expeditious merger assessment once the filing has been formally notified to the commission. However, these guidelines should not be interpreted as derogating from the commission’s investigative powers to assess all factors, whether or not they were canvassed during the premerger filing consultation.
The draft guidelines on the premerger filing consultation process are available on www.compcom.co.za and all stakeholders are encouraged to submit comments for the attention of Luke Rennie (luker@compcom.co.za) and Mpumelelo Tshabalala (mpumit@compcom.co.za) by no later than 24 November 2025..
Makunga is the spokesperson for the Competition Commission of South Africa.
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