Competition Tribunal approves PIC merger

Johannesburg – The Competition Tribunal approved a large merger between the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and Business Venture Investments with Sub-Saharan Industrial Holdings (SSIH) on Friday.

According to a statement released by the Tribunal, the merger was approved unconditionally. This means there were no conditions required to prevent job losses or to protect competitors, according to Chantelle Benjamin, communications officer at the Tribunal.

The merger with SSIH, a private company which provides transport and logistics services for road and rail will not impact the PIC’s holding in logistics group RTT, the Competition Commission recommended to the Tribunal. “The Competition Commission found that RTT’s services were not substitutable for services provided by SSIH.”

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The SSIH is involved in the rebuilding, repairing and maintenance of rail equipment and the transportation of hot and cold asphalt for roads. 

The PIC manages social securities such as the Government Employees Pension Fund (Gepf) and the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).

Business Venture Investments is partly controlled by the PIC and Banzi Trade and Invest.