Johannesburg - About 30 independent drivers for Coca-Cola are staging a protest outside the Competition Tribunal, where prehearings into a merger between the soft drink maker and SABMiller are taking place.
The drivers, wearing T-shirts claiming that Coca-Cola will “kill” them, are seemingly disgruntled over the merger as they fear they will lose their jobs.
IOL understands the prehearings, which are taking place before the tribunal hears the main matter and are closed to the public, are being attended by lawyers and a representative of Minister of Economic Development Ebrahim Patel.
Towards the end of last year, the commission recommended that the tribunal approve the deal between Coca-Cola and SABMiller, which is being bought out by Anheuser-Busch InBev for $100 billion.
However, the commission also had serious concerns about the deal, and recommended that conditions be attached to it.
The deal will combine their operations that mix, bottle and distribute soft drinks in Africa. It was first agreed to between the parties in November 2014.
The merger will create the continent's largest soft drinks bottler with annual sales of $2.9 billion.
The group, Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, will account for 40 percent of all Coke volumes sold in Africa, serving 12 southern and eastern African countries.
Locally, if approved by the Tribunal, the merger will combine the bottling operations of four of the five authorised Coca-Cola bottlers in South Africa into one entity to be known as Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa
Among the conditions imposed was that the parties not be allowed to retrench more than 250 staff members, invest R500 million to develop the downstream distribution and retail aspects of the business and allow at least 20 percent space in their fridges for competitors’ products.
The commission was also concerned that the proposed transaction may have a negative impact on the broad-based black empowerment (B-BBEE) as it is likely to dilute B-BBEE shareholding. To address this concern, the merging parties have committed to increase B-BBEE ownership.
The merging parties have also agreed to purchase all tin cans, glass, plastic bottles and closures, packaging, crates and sugar from local suppliers as far as possible.
“These conditions, in the main, address the competition and public interest concerns identified during the investigation and have been crafted to ensure that the merger does not negatively affect businesses in the value chain that previously benefited from the existence of the individual bottlers in South Africa.
“In addition, the development funds committed by the merging parties will not only ensure that South African suppliers grow from this consolidation but also be to the benefit of consumers in general,” said acting deputy Commissioner, Hardin Ratshisusu in December when the deal was approved.
IOL