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Primedia has agreed to pay an administration penalty to the Competition Commission to settle a price fixing case in which its outdoor advertising business was implicated in a collusion scandal with 12 other companies.
The total R4 million fine has been broken into two portions - R2.7 million will be paid to the commission, while the media house will afford free advertisement worth R1.3 million to small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) owned by previously disadvantaged persons, said the Competition Commission on Thursday.
Primedia, whose flagship broadcasting operations are Talk Radio 702 in Johannesburg and Cape Talk in Cape Town, is the first of the 13 companies to settle with the commission.
"The commission is encouraging the remaining 12 respondents to settle the case against them," said commissioner Doris Tshepe in a statement.
Primedia's board is chaired by Phumzile Langeni, while Jonathan Procter is its chief executive officer.
The major owners of Primedia include the Mineworkers Investment Company, which invests on behalf of the Mineworkers Investment Trust, whose beneficiaries are members of the National Union of Mineworkers. Private equity house Ethos, the FirstRand Group and a unit of Old Mutual are the other shareholders of Primedia.
The offences occurred in the years starting in September 2004 until March 2018, said the commission. In contravention of the Competition Act, Primedia entered into an agreement with the other firms working under the auspices of industry association Out of Home Media South Africa and illegally colluded to fix advertising prices and segmented the market among the parties.
The commission initiated the probe in December 2018.
In terms of the Competition Act, the Competition Commission initiates investigations into illegal collusion and then presents the cases to the Competition Tribunal for adjudication.
The tribunal has consented to the settlement, meaning Primedia has agreed to assist the commission with the investigation into the remaining cartel members.
