The Competition Tribunal will on Wednesday hear the cases of two related mergers in the retail property market.

In the first proposed merger, Growthpoint Properties (GRT), which owns Brooklyn Mall in Pretoria, will effectively do a share-swap with Design Square, which owns Design Square Shopping Centre located next to Brooklyn Mall.

After the implementation of this merger, Growthpoint will hold a majority shareholding in Brooklyn Mall and Design Square, while Design Square will hold minority shares in Brooklyn Mall and Design Square Shopping Centre. Design Square is ultimately controlled by Atterbury Investment Holdings.

The merging parties believe that combining the control and management of Brooklyn Mall and Design Square in this way will enhance their competitiveness in comparison to other malls, allow for a better tenant mix and give rise to other operational efficiencies.

In the second transaction, Retail Africa Consortium Holdings (REACH) intends to acquire Rapfund and Wingspan through a series of internal restructuring deals. On completion of the transaction, REACH will control Rapfund and Wingspan while Atterbury Investment Holdings will control REACH.

Rapfund and Wingspan are both active in the retail property market, owning shopping centres in various locations around SA. Atterbury already holds an interest in both Rapfund and Wingspan, and it believes this transaction will allow it to consolidate these interests and gain economies of scale in the management of its properties.

The Competition Commission has considered the above mergers and concluded that they would not give rise to a substantial lessening of competition. The commission has therefore recommended that the tribunal approve these transactions without conditions.

Source: I-Net Bridge