The Competition Commission has approved the proposed transaction whereby steelmaker Trident Steel subsidiary Trident Steel Africa (TSA) intends to acquire Aveng subsidiary Aveng Trident Steel (ATS), with conditions.

The commission says it is of the view that the proposed transaction is unlikely to substantially lessen or prevent competition in the steel processing market within South Africa.

However, to promote the greater spread of ownership, the merging parties have agreed to implement a transformation initiative within 12 months of the implementation date.

TSA is involved in the provision of professional transaction and corporate advisory and related services; the manufacture and supply of recreational watercraft; the supply of building products and materials to professional contractors within the agricultural and residential building markets; the manufacture and distribution of on-and off-road utility terrain vehicles and power sport vehicles; the provision of property development and management services; as well as the provision of services to designers and homeowners in the custom and luxury home interior market.

ATS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aveng – a steel service centre business that provides steel processing and related services, including platework such as laser, plasma and oxy gas cutting, structural steelwork, coil processing, tube laser cutting, and other services.

Through these operations, ATS produces automotive blanks, special steel, structural and plate steel, as well as pipe and tube steel products. The majority of ATS’ services are provided to the automotive sector, primarily to original-equipment manufacturers.

Outside of the automotive sector, ATS provides steel processing services to produce steel products to the specifications of customers in the rail, mining, energy and engineering sectors.