CAPE TOWN - The Competition Tribunal gave the tile and sanitary ware manufacturer Italtile merger with Ceramic Industries Limited (CIL) and Ezee Tile Adhesive Manufactures the green light with conditions.
The tribunal said it was satisfied that concerns raised by the Competition Commission were not merger specific.
In July, the commission squashed the merger following a lengthy hearing. Italtile owns a 20% stake in Ceramic and it is the largest client of Ceramic Industries.
In April, Italtile announced that it had submitted a binding offer letter to Ceramic Industries to acquire the remaining shares.
Italtile wanted to acquire the remaining 75% controlling stake in Ceramic Industries for a proposed R3.75 billion.
The commission during its investigation had raised an input foreclosure concern regarding the merger. But the tribunal said there would be no material change on the incentives of the firms, who are all ultimately controlled by the same shareholder, namely Rallen Proprietary".