Photo by: Duane Daws
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – South Africa’s Competition Commission has recommended the Competition Tribunal conditionally approve the proposed merger between Gupta-owned Tegeta Exploration, Glencore’s Optimum coal mine and six target firms.
The commission found that the proposed transaction was unlikely to substantially prevent or lessen competition in the thermal coal market, as merging parties were smaller players in this market and faced competition from larger rivals such as Anglo American, Exxaro Coal and South32.
However, as the merger was raising public interest concerns, particularly the likelihood of job losses, it recommended that the proposed transaction be approved on condition that the merging parties not retrench any employees of the target firms.
On completion of the transaction, Tegeta would also acquire control over the target firms.
Tegeta and Optimum were involved in the production of thermal coal, which was largely supplied to State-owned power utility Eskom’s power stations.