The competition authority has cleared two Forest Hill property acquisitions by The Far Property Company, finding no material threat to competition or public interest.
GAZETTE REPORTER
The Competition and Consumer Authority (CCA) has unconditionally approved two separate acquisitions of immovable property by The Far Property Company Limited, a Botswana Stock Exchange-listed property investment company whose shareholders include Ramachandran Ottapathu and Farouk Ismail.
The two transactions concern properties at Farm Forest Hill No. 9-KO in Botswana’s South-East Administrative District.
First Deal
In the first decision, the CCA approved The Far Property Company’s proposed acquisition of Portion 175, a portion of Portion 148 of Farm Forest Hill No. 9-KO, from GICP III 175 Trust.
According to the CCA assessment, The Far Property is controlled by various shareholders, including Ottapathu, Ismail, Platinum Compass (Pty) Limited, Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund and Botswana Insurance Fund Management.
GICP III 175 Trust is registered under Botswana law and controlled by Viki International Limited, an entity domiciled in the Bahamas. The trust is involved in leasing, acquiring and selling immovable property and is the registered lessee of the property under a lease agreement with the Roman Catholic Church.
Second Deal
In a separate decision, the CCA approved The Far Property Company’s acquisition of Portion 1637, a portion of Portion 1619, itself a portion of Portion 3 of Farm Forest Hill No. 9-KO, from Merlin Integer (Pty) Ltd.
Merlin Integer is registered in Botswana and controlled by Viki International Limited. The authority described it as a property investment company involved in the “leasing, acquiring and sale of immovable property” and said it is the registered lessee of the target property under an agreement with the Roman Catholic Church.
Competition Test
The CCA said The Far Property holds a portfolio spanning retail, commercial, industrial and residential properties in Botswana, South Africa and Zambia.
Although the authority acknowledged an overlap in the parties’ activities in Botswana, it distinguished the transactions from acquisitions of the target businesses themselves.
“The Acquiring Enterprise is not purchasing GICP Trust as a going concern but is acquiring a property owned by the Target Enterprise,” the CCA said of the first transaction. It reached a similar conclusion regarding Merlin Integer.
The authority said the relevant property market remained competitive, with “many active participants,” and determined that neither transaction would substantially prevent or lessen competition in Botswana.
The CCA concluded that the transactions raised no competition or public-interest concerns.