Commission approves Hudaco’s Boltworld acquisition, with conditions

30th May 2018

By: Simone Liedtke

Creamer Media Social Media Editor & Senior Writer

     

Font size: - +

The Competition Commission has approved, with conditions, the proposed merger whereby industrial supplies company Hudaco intends to acquire industrial equipment supplier Boltworld.

The commission does not believe the proposed transaction will substantially prevent or lessen competition in any relevant market, but expressed concern that some employees may be retrenched owing to role duplications.

Hudaco and Boltworld were not able to demonstrate that the proposed retrenchments had been determined subject to a rational process and pursuant to consultation with the affected employees, the commission said.

Therefore, the commission was particularly concerned that some of the employees earmarked for retrenchment were semi-skilled or unskilled workers who would struggle to find alternative employment in the short term.

In order to address this concern, the commission approved the proposed acquisition subject to conditions placing a moratorium on merger specific retrenchments for a period of two years from the date of implementation of the proposed merger.

The operating division of Hudaco relevant for the purposes of assessing the proposed transaction is Rutherford, which imports and distributes a vast range of industrial fasteners and allied products.

The proposed transaction does not raise any other public interest concerns, the commission noted on Wednesday.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION