Johannesburg - The Competition Tribunal has approved a merger between Clover and DairyBelle's yoghurt/UHT milk business, it said on Monday.
The tribunal ordered on Friday that Clover continue to supply Danone Southern Africa with secondary distribution services until June 2015.
Both parties were ordered not to retrench any of their employees for three years from the merger approval date, the tribunal said in a statement.
The Competition Commission recommended in October that the merger be approved, with a condition aimed at ensuring that Clover continue supplying Danone with distribution services for its yoghurt product until June 2015.
“The commission ascertained that Clover’s decision to stop supplying Danone with secondary distribution services would lead to anti-competitive outcomes and (have a) negative effect on employment,” it said in a statement at the time.
Danone would not be able to replace the services provided by Clover within a reasonable period, the commission found.
Sapa