CARMEL RICKARD: The missing tribunal
A Zambian court has found against the country’s finance minister for failing to set up a crucial market body, as required by law
At the time AB InBev was merging with SABMiller in Zambia, a dispute arose with the local securities and exchange commission, which oversees mergers. The breweries wanted to appeal a decision of the commission, but the body that should have heard the appeal did not exist: it had not been set up by the minister of finance even though it should have been in place long before. AB InBev and the other breweries — Zambian Breweries and National Breweries — then went to court against the attorney-general, the minister of finance and the commission. The legal team for the breweries outlined the history of the R1.4 trillion deal between AB InBev and SABMiller, which had triggered a mandatory offer to protect the minority shareholders of the Zambian brewery companies. AB InBev applied to the commission for exemption from making the mandatory offer. This was granted, with a fee being payable. The commission next demanded a "purported ‘authorisation fee’" in respect of the takeover transaction ...
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