Italtile has filed a request for consideration with the Competition Tribunal, as it was strongly opposed to the Competition Commission’s ruling, in July, which prohibited the group’s proposed acquisition of Ceramic Industries and Ezee Tile Adhesive Manufacturers.
The commission found that there would be no viable alternatives for competitors in the downstream retail market, adding that the merged entity could foreclose retailers by raising prices, reducing supplies or refusing outright to supply.
“The proposed transaction creates a vertical overlap in the activities of the merging parties in relation to the upstream markets for the manufacture and supply of tiles, sanitaryware, baths and grout, and adhesives and related products, and the downstream market for the retail sale of the products in South Africa,” it said at the time.
However, Italtile believed the commission’s decision was based on incorrect information and an incorrect adjudication of control, which made its findings incorrect.