Wiseman Khuzwayo
A black businesswoman who parachuted herself into the horse racing industry was prepared to continue challenging the dominant Phumelela Gaming & Leisure all the way to the Constitutional Court if need be, she said on Monday.
Phindi Kema, a thoroughbred horse breeder and a one-time aspirant to own Arlington Racecourse in Port Elizabeth, was commenting from London after she and her company, the Africa Race Group (ARG), had received notification that the Competition Appeal Court (CAC) had allowed them to submit heads of argument to the court in an appeal in which she is challenging a merger between Kenilworth Racing and the Western Cape horse racing division of Gold Circle.
The other merger involves the Thoroughbred horse racing Trust acquiring 100 percent of the issued share capital in Kenilworth Racing.
Together, the two transactions will result in the trust acquiring control of Kenilworth in Cape Town and its business.
The Thoroughbred horse racing Trust owns 35.26 percent of Phumelela, which controls most horse racing in South Africa.
In March 2012, the Competition Commission prohibited the two mergers, based on an objection lodged by Kema and the ARG, which followed her previous attempts to buy Arlington Racecourse.
Kenilworth, Gold Circle and the trust appealed to the Competition Tribunal and the mergers were then approved.
They were subject to the condition that Kenilworth ensures there are no retrenchments in South Africa resulting from the mergers for a period of two years from the date of the transactions.
Kema approached the CAC with an application to appeal the approval. Lawyers for Kenilworth, Gold Circle and the Thoroughbred horse racing Trust objected to the application on the basis that Kema was neither a party to the mergers nor a trade union.
The court sought opinion from Kema’s counsel. On the basis of that, the court has asked Kema and the three companies to submit their head of arguments as to Kema’s standing in law.
Kema left for the UK in mid-May after her dream to own a racecourse soured. She plans to settle there with her partner, who is British. However, she said South Africa would remain her foundation, but not in horse racing. She has signed a co-operation agreement with UK-based Zukido to launch ARG’s betting business.
Zukido is a leading strategy, consultancy and development agency operating primarily in the sports betting and e-gaming markets.