Leading Associates

Firms To Watch: Competition

Adams & Adams‘ competition practice has expertise in advising on the competition law aspects of large mergers and interim relief applications. Jac Marais and Alexis Apostolidis are key practitioners.
Competition law specialist Leana Engelbrecht heads the competition practice at Alchemy Law, which advises on abuse of dominance issues, merger control matters, and compliance work.
Specialist competition law firm MGI Competition Law was co-founded by Lara Granville and Neil Mackenzie in December 2024. Granville has expertise in advising on merger control matters, prohibited practices proceedings and exemption applications. Mackenzie has established strength in handling market inquiries and abuse of dominance and cartel investigations.

Competition in South Africa

Bowmans

Bowmans stands out for its strong offering across the full range of competition law matters. The group regularly acts as counsel to a solid client base of blue-chip companies on a wide range of complex competition issues, and continues to advise on multi-jurisdictional merger matters, high-profile market inquiries, and abuse of dominance claims. Practice co-head Derek Lötter is ‘very commercial and very experienced‘, and practice co-head Tamara Dini fields expertise in cross-border transactions and merger control issues. Heather Irvine has solid expertise in acting for clients in the financial services and manufacturing sectors. Xolani Nyali is well versed in handling pan-African merger transactions.

Praxisleiter:

Derek Lötter; Tamara Dini


Weitere Kernanwälte:

Heather Irvine; Judd Lurie; Xolani Nyali; Rudolph Labuschagne; Richard Bryce; Lital Avivi


Referenzen

The practice combines legal excellence with practical advice.’

They provide practical and implementable solutions.’

The competition department has an incredible depth of knowledge and experience.’

Kernmandanten

Astron Energy SA (Pty) Ltd


Old Mutual


Coca-Cola Beverages Africa


Vita Gas (Pty) Ltd


TPG Inc.


Booking.com B.V.


Anheuser-Busch InBev


BeIN Media Group WLL


Pharmanovia


NCR Corporation


Akzo Nobel Nederland B.V


MTN South Africa (Pty) Ltd


SMBC Bank EU AG


Macquarie Group


Total Energies


British Airways


Cisco


Amazon


Agroberries Limited


Mitsubishi Electric Corporation


Deutsche Lufthansa AG


Barloworld


Engen


Universal Music Group


Blackstone Group LP


Puma Energy South Africa Proprietary Limited


Dis-Chem Pharmacies Ltd


The Veritas Capital Fund VIII, L.P.


Macmillan South Africa (Pty) Ltd.


Prominent Paints (Pty) Ltd


Imperial Group


Sanlam


Highlight-Mandate


  • Advised Bunge Global SA (Bunge) and Viterra Limited (Viterra) on the South African, Nigerian, and COMESA competition clearances required for the merger of the two companies.
  • Advising Apple and Booking.com on ongoing matters in relation to the Online Intermediation and Platforms Market Inquiry.

ENSafrica

At ENSafrica, the team has an excellent track record in advising on the full range of contentious and non-contentious competition law matters. Practice head Jocelyn Katz regularly acts for clients in the retail, mining, healthcare, telecoms, financial services, and insurance sectors, while Justin Balkin‘s workload includes merger control matters and cartel investigations. Lizél Blignaut specialises in advising on competition economics, Aidan Scallan brings experience in handling abuse of dominance claims, horizontal prohibited practices proceedings, and multi-jurisdictional merger notifications. Nicholas Petzwinkler joined the team in February 2024.

Praxisleiter:

Jocelyn Katz


Weitere Kernanwälte:

Justin Balkin; Natalia Lopes; Derushka Chetty; Lameez Mayet; Aidan Scallan; Lizél Blignaut; Nicholas Petzwinkler; Zaid Bhayat; Sazi Madlala; Richardt van Rensburg; Wade Graaff


Referenzen

Very practical and robust in their approach.’

Justin Balkin is always available with practical advice.’

Aidan Scallan is responsive and hard working.’

Kernmandanten

Microsoft Corporation


Activision Blizzard


TikTok Pte. Ltd.


BHP Billiton


Consolidated Copper (Namibia) Corp


Johann-Heinrich F. Holding GmbH & Co. KG


Vivo Energy Namibia Limited


Nedbank Limited


Huaxin (Hong Kong) International Holdings Limited


Sanlam Private Equity


HeidelbergCement AG


The Discovery Group


Vodacom


ZF Friedrichshafen AG (“ZF”)


PETRONAS and Engen


Holcim and Lafarge SA


Health Funders Association


Caxton


Massmart / Walmart


PG Group


South32


Astral


A.P. Moller–Maersk Group


Adcock Ingram


Advent International, Cinven and RAG-Stiftung (the consortium)


AkzoNobel


AngloGold Ashanti


Beefmaster Holdings Pty Ltd (“Beefmaster”)


Carlyle Group


CDK Global Inc.


CEVA Logistics


Cipla Limited


CMA CGM


Comair Business Rescue Consortium


Consolidated Infrastructure Group LTD


Corobrik


Dis-Chem Pharmacies Limited


Discovery Limited


Distell Group Holdings Limited (“Distell”)


DSV South Africa Proprietary Limited


Edcon


Emerging Capital Partners


enX Group Limited


Evraz Highveld Steel and Vanadium Limited


Experian


Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa


G4S plc


General Partner Proprietary Limited


Grindrod Group Limited


Hoegh Autoliner AS


Hollard Holdings Limited


IDC


Imerys


Investec Group


Invicta Holdings Limited


Kleoss Fund 1 en commandite Partnership (“Kleoss”)


Konecranes PLC


LafargeHolcim


Mediterranean Shipping Company SA


Netflix


Nestle SA


Old Mutual Insure


RZ Murowa Holdings Limited


RMB Corvest


Sanlam


Sasol


Sibanye Stillwater


Stuttafords and Pickfords


Tarsus Technology Group Limited


Tetrad Investments Holdings Proprietary Limited


Teraco Data Environments (Pty) Ltd


The Government Employees Pension Fund (“GEPF”)


Tiger Brands Limited


Totalgaz Proprietary Limited.


ThyssenKrupp AG


Vodacom Proprietary Limited


Absa


Air France KLM


Santam


Vivendi


Highlight-Mandate


Webber Wentzel

Led by Mark Garden, Webber Wentzel‘s ‘agile‘ team handles cross-border transactions, multi-jurisdictional merger applications, abuse of dominance claims, and investigations brought by the Competition Commission. Robert Wilson‘s workload includes merger control mandates involving public interest considerations, while Shawn Van Der Meulen has established strength in advising on prohibited practices cases. Daryl Dingley is a highly regarded competition law practitioner, with an excellent track record in assisting with the full range of competition law issues, and Martin Versfeld is well versed in advising on high-profile, pan-African competition cases. Burton Phillips and Clare-Alice Vertue are other key contacts. Gina Lodolo joined the team in March 2024.

Praxisleiter:

Mark Garden


Weitere Kernanwälte:

Daryl Dingley; Robert Wilson; Martin Versfeld; Burton Phillips; Shawn Van Der Meulen; Clare-Alice Vertue; Gina Lodolo; Dudu Mogapi; Kgomotso Mmutle; Busisiwe Masango


Referenzen

‘They have a great breadth and depth of experience across the team, providing legally sound, practical solutions to complex matters.’

‘Mark Garden is an exceptional lawyer due to his commercial acumen and practical application of the law. He is able to provide robust advice that works.’

‘Daryl Dingley is the best competition lawyer we have worked with.’

Kernmandanten

Heineken N.V


Saint-Gobain Construction Products South Africa (Pty) Ltd


Akzo Nobel N.V


Woolworths


JP Morgan, Standard Chartered, Bank of America and Commerzbank


Woolworths


Agri SA


RSA Group of Companies


Interaction Market Services Holding (Pty) Ltd


MultiChoice Group Ltd


MTN


Naspers


RCL Foods Limited


Highlight-Mandate


Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr

At Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, the ‘exceptional‘ competition team continues to handle a steady workflow of market inquiries across a wide range of sectors, as well as assisting with the competition law aspects of high-value M&A deals. Practice head Chris Charter is well versed in representing clients in the banking, retail, financial services, telecoms, and construction sectors, while the ‘exceptionalSusan Meyer regularly advises healthcare entities on a broad range of competition law issues, including merger notifications and exemption applications. Albert Aukema fields expertise in all areas of competition law, while competition litigation forms a key pillar of Mmakgabo Mogapi‘s practice.

Praxisleiter:

Chris Charter


Weitere Kernanwälte:

Susan Meyer; Albert Aukema; Andries le Grange; Mmakgabo Mogapi


Referenzen

‘They are exceptionally skilled.’

They are extremely pragmatic and approachable individuals who truly understand their clients.’

They are a technically strong and knowledgeable team who can be trusted in their ability to provide sound legal advice and support in complex legal processes.’

Kernmandanten

AdvTech


African Bank


Anglo American


ANZ


Apex Partners


Aveng


Avon Justine


Azelis


Babcock Plant Services


BetterHome Group


British American Tobacco


Bud Group


Business Connexion


Capitalworks


Clientele


Computershare


Coca-Cola Beverages Africa


Cosco Shipping


Curro Schools


Dark Fibre Africa


DN Invest


EASEED Group


Engie


EnviroServ


Fidelity Services Group


FirstRand Bank


FNB


FNZ


Food Lovers Market


Fortress REIT


GAP Chemicals


Hatfield Holdings


Hollywood Bets


Hygrotech Properties


Investec


Jasco Electronics Holdings


Kagiso Tiso Holdings


Legae Peresec


LG


Liquid Telecoms


Lonmin


Mainstream Renewable Power


Manganese Producers Consortium


Massmart


Mediclinic


Merck


Minister of Economic Development


National Health Laboratory Service


National Land Rover Dealers Association South Africa


Old Mutual


Pam Golding


OpenAI


Parmalat


Pelo Agricultural Ventures


PPC


PSG Group


Public Investment Corporation


Puma Energy


RCL


Remgro


Roche


Rymco


Sabre


SA Corporate


Saint Gobain Construction Products South Africa


Sentech


Senwes


Shell


Shop2Shop


Sibanye-Stillwater


Spear REIT


Technology Management Services (TCM)


Telesure


The Coca-Cola Company


Tiger Brands


Tiso Blackstar Group


Total-Energies


Tourvest


Trafigura


Various Oppenheimer Group Companies


Vodacom


Vumatel


Willowton Oil


Herbert Smith Freehills LLP

Jean Meijer heads up the competition, regulation, and trade practice at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, which is well known for providing ‘concise, useful and practical advice‘ to prominent domestic and international clients on high-profile market inquiries, cartel investigations, merger control issues, and regulatory and compliance matters. Nick Altini has a solid track record in handling abuse of dominance claims and discriminatory and predatory pricing matters, while Stewart Payne assists with merger control and exemption applications. Nyiko Mathebula joined the group in December 2023.

Praxisleiter:

Jean Meijer


Weitere Kernanwälte:

Nick Altini; Stewart Payne; Nyiko Mathebula; Natasha Rachwal


Referenzen

‘The team has a good relationship with regulators. Their deep understanding of the law and very commercial approach makes them incredibly valuable advisors.’

‘Pragmatic, timely advice.’

‘They are highly efficient.’

Kernmandanten

Ampath


Associated British Foods


Air Products South Africa Proprietary Limited


Airlink


British American Tobacco South Africa


Clover


Country Bird Holdings


Harmony Gold


HSBC Bank


IHS Holdings


Life Healthcare Group Limited


MultiChoice


AutoTrader


Mr D


OLX South Africa


Property24


Takealot.com


Procter and Gamble


Rain


Sun International Limited


The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited


Uber Portier B.V.


Uber Eats South Africa Proprietary Limited


Highlight-Mandate


  • Acting as competition counsel for a prominent entertainment company in respect of the mandatory public takeover offer made by Canal+ to acquire shares in the company.
  • Acting for Sun International in its proposed acquisition of Peermont.

Werksmans Attorneys

Werksmans Attorneys‘ ‘phenomenal‘ team stands out for its expertise in handling complex merger transactions, and is equally strong in advising on abuse of dominance claims, cartel-related matters, and market inquiries. Paul Coetser, who heads up the practice, is a key name for competition litigation, and regularly acts for clients in the telecoms, e-commerce, financial services, and IT sectors. Ahmore Burger-Smidt is well versed in advising on merger approvals and regulatory issues in the telecoms arena, and Rudolph Raath is highly regarded for his extensive experience in handling cartel cases. Nkonzo Hlatshwayo advises on the competition law aspects of cross-border merger transactions. Nyiko Mathebula left the firm in December 2023.

Praxisleiter:

Paul Coetser


Weitere Kernanwälte:

Ahmore Burger-Smidt; Rudolph Raath; Nkonzo Hlatshwayo; Phuti Mashalane


Referenzen

‘They have a great relationship with regulators.’

‘Practical advice and approach.’

‘They communicate effectively.’

Kernmandanten

Audatex Proprietary Limited


Heineken South Africa (RF) Proprietary Limited


Karsten Namibia Agriculture (Proprietary) Limited


MultiChoice South Africa Proprietary Limited


Nedbank Limited


Professional Provident Society Limited


Samsung Electronics


SuperSport International Proprietary Limited


Vitol Holding II S.A.


Highlight-Mandate


  • Providing ongoing assistance to Vitol Group with the merger approval processes for its acquisition of a 75% stake of Engen Limited across five African jurisdictions.
  • Successfully defended Waco Africa before the Competition Tribunal in proceedings concerning the dismissal of cartel charges brought against the client.

Fasken

The competition practice at Fasken has a solid track record in advising on a broad range of contentious and non-contentious work, and continues to handle a steady stream of market inquiries for multinational entities. Lesley Morphet, who leads the team, is a highly regarded practitioner in the space, and is sought after for her strength in advising on cartel investigations, complex merger filings, merger notifications, and compliance issues. Competition litigation is a key strength for Veronica Cadman, while Palesa Mpe continues to act for clients in the pharmaceutical, transport, financial services, technology, and logistics sectors, often in multi-jurisdictional mergers.

Praxisleiter:

Lesley Morphet


Weitere Kernanwälte:

Veronica Cadman; Palesa Mpe


Referenzen

Working with the Fasken team was an absolute privilege.’

The Fasken team provides clear and targeted legal advice.’

Knowledgeable, thorough. and collaborative.’

Kernmandanten

South African Petroleum Industry Association


Nomura International Plc


BidAir Cargo


Alstom


Eastern Platinum Limited


Amgen


Highlight-Mandate


  • Representing Nomura International Plc in litigation before the Competition Tribunal concerning allegations of price fixing and market sharing in relation to foreign currency trading.
  • Assisting the South African Petroleum Industry Association (‘SAPIA’) with obtaining multiple exemption applications.

Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa Inc

Norton Rose Fulbright’s offering in competition law includes advising on compliance and risk mitigation issues, multi-jurisdictional merger notifications, and abuse of dominance claims. Practice head Marianne Wagener has established expertise in competition law, and often acts for clients in the energy, healthcare, agriculture, and construction sectors. Contentious merger notifications are a key area of instruction for Mark Griffiths, and Rosalind Lake is sought after for her experience in handling regulatory matters. Candice Upfold and James Donald left the firm in December 2023.

Praxisleiter:

Marianne Wagener


Weitere Kernanwälte:

Mark Griffiths; Rosalind Lake; Reabetsoe Sello


Referenzen

The team is very professional and provides a very personalised service. They are also very knowledgeable.’

Responsive and supportive.’

Kernmandanten

Industrial Gas Users Association of South Africa


Volvo


BMW South Africa Proprietary Limited


Sanlam


PIC


AngloGold Ashanti


Department of Public Enterprises


FirstRand Bank Limited


Infra Impact Investment Managers


Hollard International


Accenture International


Wilmar


Standard Chartered


Absa Bank Limited


AIG MEA Holdings Limited


Highlight-Mandate


  • Advising IGUA-SA on an ongoing dispute against Sasol Gas concerning alleged excessive pricing.
  • Assisted AIG MEA Holdings Limited with its notification to the Competition Authority of Kenya of the KES 1.075bn sale of its subsidiary, AIG Bank Kenya.
  • Assisted Manitou Centres SA (Pty) Ltd (Manitou Centres) and Dezzo Equipment (Pty) Ltd (Dezzo) with completing the merger filing pertaining to Manitou Centres’ acquisition of certain assets, employees and contracts of Dezzo.

Baker McKenzie Johannesburg

Led by firm managing partner Lerisha Naidu, the competition team at Baker McKenzie Johannesburg handles high-profile merger control mandates, cartel conduct matters, and the competition law aspects of high-value transactions. The group often acts for clients in the financial services, oil and gas, private equity and consumer goods sectors. Newly promoted partner Angelo Tzarevski is well versed in advising on abuse of dominance allegations and compliance issues. Sphesihle Nxumalo brings expertise in merger transactions.

Praxisleiter:

Lerisha Naidu


Weitere Kernanwälte:

Angelo Tzarevski; Sphesihle Nxumalo


Referenzen

‘The team has a great depth of knowledge and a personable, practical, and responsive approach.’

‘Angelo Tzarevski has a clear and practical approach.’

‘Well resourced and highly technically competent.’

Kernmandanten

Unilever South Africa (Pty) Ltd


Brenntag South Africa Proprietary Limited


Varun Beverages Limited


Bidvest Group


Chr. Hansen Holding A/S


Blantyre Capital


Apple


Royal Bafokeng Holdings


Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia


Saudi Arabian Mining Company


Marubeni Corporation


The Foschini Group


ZCCM Investments Holdings plc


Fluidra


Shell


bp


Ster-Kinekor Theatres


Hutchison Ports Group


Infinite Partners


Highlight-Mandate


  • Represented Unilever in proceedings before the Competition Tribunal concerning allegations of cartel conduct in the edible oils and fats industry between 2004 and 2013.
  • Assisted Hong Kong-based company Hutchison Ports Group with a merger notification concerning its proposed transaction with COSCO Shipping and CMA-CGM for establishing a joint venture.
  • Advised Chr. Hansen Holding A/S on the African merger control aspects of the merger between Novozymes A/S and Chr. Hansen Holding.

Primerio International

Pan-African competition law boutique Primerio International houses a team with established strength in advising on abuse of dominance claims, cartel investigations, and cross-border merger applications and filings. John Oxenham and Michael-James Currie jointly head up the practice. Stephany Torres is sought after for her expertise in handling competition litigation and merger control mandates, and Joshua Eveleigh has a solid track record in advising on merger notifications and compliance issues. In early 2024, Gina Lodolo and Nicholas Petzwinkler left the firm.

Praxisleiter:

John Oxenham; Michael-James Currie


Weitere Kernanwälte:

Stephany Torres; Joshua Eveleigh


Kernmandanten

Joysen Safety Systems


Takata Japan


Oryx Energies Srl


Voith Group


Eutelsat SA


OneWeb Holdings Limited


K+S Aktiengesellschaft


Industrial Commodities Holdings


Ravago S.A and Emeraude 3.0


Makarenge Electrical Industries (Pty) Ltd


Sika AG


Ethos Fund IV


Brait Partners


Premier FMCG (Pty) Ltd


Lodestone Brands (Pty) Ltd


Nissan South Africa (Pty) Ltd


Highlight-Mandate


  • Advised Greif International on the merger approval and filing processes for its acquisition of the iPackchem Group in South Africa.