Mediclinic merger may be blocked
Commission recommends prohibition of Matlosana deal on concern about less competition and higher tariffs
Mediclinic’s proposed acquisition of Matlosana Medical Health Services may be prohibited for the same reasons the Competition Commission blocked Life Healthcare’s bid to acquire Lowveld Hospital in 2015. In the first week of July, the commission said it was recommending that the Competition Tribunal prohibit Mediclinic’s proposed acquisition of Klerksdorp-based Matlosana. The latest research from the commission shows this recommendation marks its sixth prohibition since the end of March. In the 12 months to end-March 2017, the commission prohibited just five mergers out of the 393 it investigated in that period. Of those, 353 were approved unconditionally and 32 approved with conditions. In the three months to end-June, the commission finalised 91 merger investigations. It unconditionally approved 77 and conditionally approved seven. The recommended prohibition of the Mediclinic merger was based on the grounds that it was "likely to substantially prevent or lessen competition in the...
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