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Case no: LM002Apr21
In the matter between:
And
Trafigura PTE Ltd Primary Acquiring Firm
Puma Energy Holdings PTE Ltd Primary Target Firm
REASONS FOR DECISION
Unconditional approval
[1] On 13 May 2021, the Competition Tribunal (“Tribunal”) unconditionally
approved the proposed transaction in terms of which Trafigura PTE Ltd
(“Trafigura”) intends to acquire an additional 45% of the shares in Puma Energy
Holdings PTE Ltd (“Puma Energy”). Post-merger, Trafigura will own and control
Puma Energy.
[2] The acquiring firm is Trafigura, a company incorporated in accordance with the
company laws of Singapore. Trafigura and all its subsidiaries will hereinafter be
referred to as “Trafigura”. Trafigura is an international commodity trader, with
business operations in more than 20 countries worldwide. Its core business is
the physical trading (i.e., supply and transportation) of oil and petroleum,
minerals and metal commodities globally. In South Africa, Trafigura is involved
in trading activities relating to oil and petroleum products, as well as metals and
minerals. Trafigura also supplies fuel and gas oil (bunkering) through a joint
venture, TFG Marine.
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[3] The target firm is Puma Energy, a Singaporean company in which Trafigura is
a shareholder pre-merger. Puma Energy has several subsidiaries globally. Its
activities in South Africa include the distribution of refined petroleum products,
including petrol, diesel, kerosene and aviation fuel.
[4] The Competition Commission (“Commission”) found no horizontal overlap
between the activities of the merger parties but found that the proposed
transaction has a vertical dimension since Trafigura is active in the (upstream)
trading of crude oils and the supply of refined petroleum products, whilst Puma
Energy is active in the (downstream) wholesale and distribution of refined
petroleum products. The Commission concluded that this is unlikely to lead to
any foreclosure concerns given the merging parties’ relatively low market
shares in the vertically affected markets and the continued constraints that will
be faced from competitors after the proposed transaction. The Commission
ultimately concluded that the proposed transaction is unlikely to substantially
prevent or lessen competition in any relevant market and we concur with that
conclusion.
[5] The proposed transaction does not give rise to any public interest concerns.
[6] In light of the above, we approved the proposed transaction unconditionally.
1 June 2021
Mr Andreas Wessels Date
Mr Enver Daniels and Ms Yasmin Carrim concurring
Tribunal Case Manager : Kgothatso Kgobe
For the Merging Parties : K McLean, J Lurie, and M Sambo of Bowmans
For the Commission : Z Hadebe