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The Competition Commission has prohibited the proposed merger of Atterbell Investment – trading as Gallagher Convention Centre (GCC) – and Hosken Consolidated Investment (HCI), saying on Tuesday that the transaction would lessen competition in the local exhibition and venue industry.
If approved, the transaction would have seen HCI, which was broadly involved in the hotel, leisure and interactive gaming industry, acquiring 100% of the issued share capital of Atterbell, which owned a trust that controlled the business of GCC – a conference and exhibition venue in Midrand, Gauteng.
“The commission has [found] that the proposed transaction is likely to substantially prevent or lessen competition in the market for the provision of exhibition venues and exhibition facilities in the Johannesburg area,” it noted in a statement.