The Competition Tribunal will, on September 12 and 13, hear a matter in which local alcoholic beverage company Distell accused global beer brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) and local brewer South African Breweries (SAB) of breaching their merger conditions.
The tribunal in June 2016 conditionally approved the multibillion-dollar merger between AB InBev and SAB.
Distell had, at the time of the merger hearing, made submissions regarding conditions that were ultimately imposed on the merger.
Subsequently, Distell approached the Competition Commission on the alleged breach of conditions, stating that the merged entity had removed competitors’ advertising material from outlets, but the commission found that conditions had not been breached.
Distell is now asking the tribunal to review and set aside the commission’s finding and is requesting a full investigation into the matter.
Should the tribunal find that merger conditions were not beached, Distell has requested that the tribunal provide guidance on the proper interpretation of the conditions.
Meanwhile, SAB says Distell’s complaint is an attempt to restrict competition and is unrelated to the merger conditions.
SAB believes, according to a statement released by the tribunal on Wednesday, that the complaint has no merit and should be dismissed.