Description of Activities

Description: The Commission resolved to approve without conditions the acquisition by Ohlthaver & List Finance and Trading Corporation Limited of shareholding in the OLC Arandis Solar Energy (Pty) Ltd.

Acquiring group: The primary acquiring undertaking is Ohlthaver & List Finance and Trading Corporation Ltd (Olfitra), the holding company of the O&L Group of companies. The O&L Group of companies originated from the early collaboration of Hermann Ohlthaver & List and Carl List in 1919 under the Ohlthaver & List Bran Kommission partnership. The acquiring group is a diversified and the largest privately held Namibian conglomerate, with interests in various industries, such as fishing, beverages, farming, retail trade, fast-moving consumer goods, property leasing and development, leisure and hospitality, tourism, and renewable energy.

Target undertaking: The primary target undertaking, OLC Arandis Solar Energy Ltd., is a special purpose vehicle that owns a 3.84 MWp (MW) operating solar photovoltaic (PV) plant situated in Arandis. OLC Arandis does not own or control any undertakings or have any subsidiaries.

Relevant market: Defined as the energy generation market in Namibia.

Merger Determination

The Commission found the proposed transaction unlikely to result in the prevention or substantial lessening of competition or result in any undertaking to acquire or strengthen a dominant position in the market and did not raise any public interest concerns.

However, as stated under section 50 of the Act, this approval does not relieve parties from complying with any other mandatory statutory approvals that any of the parties to this merger must comply with under Namibian laws.