The South African Competition Tribunal has unconditionally approved a transaction in which media company Naspers will purchase Johnnic Communication's 38% stake in pay television platforms M-Net and SuperSport. The acquisition will give Naspers full ownership of the pay television company. Other media companies had raised objections to the deal on fears that Naspers would now be in the position to 'bundle' advertising on its print and television platforms to the detriment of single-platform media rivals. The Tribunal, however, dismissed concerns that Naspers would appreciably harm competition in pursuing this type of strategy.
A team from CRA International's London office, comprising of Andrea Coscelli, Geoff Edwards and Grant Saggers assisted Naspers throughout the proceedings.
The reasons for the Tribunal's decision are still to be released, but see further commentary