HOSPITAL TIE-UP
Netcare, Lakeview merger blocked
Netcare operates 57 hospitals and has chosen not to respond to the ruling ‘for now’
The Competition Commission has prohibited a merger between JSE-listed Netcare and Lakeview Hospitals. According to the commission, the tie-up lessens, or prevents, competition in the Benoni and Johannesburg area and results in higher hospital prices for insured patients who utilise the Lakeview Hospital. The commission uncovered the 2016 Lakeview merger, which had already been implemented, during its investigation of the Netcare and Akeso Group merger earlier in 2017. The commission in May wrote to the merging parties and requested notification of the merger in order to allow it to assess its competitive effects. Netcare operates 57 hospitals and has chosen not to respond to the ruling "for now". The group already operates the Netcare Linmed Hospital and Netcare Optiklin, an eye hospital, in the Benoni area. In a statement released on Friday, the commission noted that the price differentials between the tariffs of Netcare and Lakeview Hospital had been more than the consumer price i...
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