Competition economics
All projects

Genesis report shifts debate on proposed chrome ore export tax
Genesis was approached by a group of non-integrated chrome producers to conduct its own independent assessment of the export tax on chrome ore that has been lobbied for by ferrochrome producers as well as other stakeholders in the industry.

Expert assistance in interdict against software company
Genesis was retained by DLA Piper on behalf of Vexall, a new entrant in the pharmaceutical software value-added services market, with respect to an urgent interim relief application sought against the incumbent, Business Connexion Pty Ltd (“BCX”).

Advisory support to the IDC on a major investment
Genesis was retained by the IDC to conduct an assessment of the operations and viability of one of the companies in which it has a major shareholding. The company has faced significant challenges over recent years due to the volatile market in which it operates and the nature of its core business lines.

Economic assessment of potato seed supply agreements
Genesis was appointed by HZPC and Wesgrow to assess a complaint against their firms over access to the Mondial genetic material and saleable seed potato and the subsequent referral by the Competition Commission to the Competition Tribunal.

Quantifying impact of competition in SA securities market
Genesis was requested by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) to assess the impact of introducing competition in the cash equites market in South Africa. In particular, over the past two years, the FSCA licensed four new trading platforms that are starting to compete against the well-entrenched JSE.

Expert analysis in Africa's largest bottling merger
Genesis Analytics was appointed jointly by The Coca-Cola Company, SABMiller and Coca-Cola Sabco to provide expert economic advice regarding the creation of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, the largest Coca-Cola bottler on the African continent.

Expert advice on Vodacom-Neotel merger
Genesis was contracted by the Competition Commission of South Africa as expert economic advisers in the assessment of a proposed merger between Vodacom South Africa, the largest mobile network operator in the country, and Neotel, the country’s second national fixed-line operator.

Proximity plays role in assessment of big casino merger
Genesis was appointed jointly by Sun International and Peermont Global to provide an expert economic report as part of a submission to the Competition Commission, which had received notice of a large merger between these two major casino groups. The commission had recommended the prohibition of the merger, anticipating a significant lessening of competition in the central Gauteng market should it go through.

Expert evidence on SA National Payments System
The South African National Payments System is the backbone of the South African economy. Genesis was asked by the Association of System Operators (ASO) to address a number of key competition issues in terms of the reconsideration of conditions imposed by the Competition Commission in two mergers in the South African National Payment System.

Genesis gives expert advice on major cement merger
Genesis was retained to provide expert economic analysis in an international merger between cement producers Holcim and Lafarge. The objective of the assignment was to assess the Competition Commission’s requirement that Holcim divest its minority shareholding in a competing South African cement manufacturer as a condition for the approval of the merger.

Genesis assists merging parties in R62-billion retail deal
Genesis was commissioned to assist Pepkor Holdings and Steinhoff International Holdings with their submissions to the Competition Commission during its investigation into their proposed R 62.8-billion merger - the largest corporate transaction in South Africa at the time.

Expert opinion in abuse of dominance complaint
Genesis was commissioned to provide expert economic evidence relating to a complaint brought by the Fair Competition Commission of Tanzania (FCC) against the Tanzania Cigarette Company (TCC). In the complaint, it was alleged that TCC engaged in an abuse of dominance in relation to a new entrant, and that it then illegally acquired the allegedly successful entrant.

Expert advice on public Wi-Fi joint venture
Genesis provided an expert economic report to support the filing of a proposed joint venture between Dimension Data and MWeb for the development of public Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the country. The analysis of project team located the merger within the context of broader production joint ventures (JVs), as well as JVs in telecoms infrastructure sharing.

Negotiations over appropriate administrative penalty
Genesis was retained by Columbus Steel's attorneys to assist in assessing the economic aspects of consent order negotiations with the Competition Commission relating to alleged scrap metal cartel activity. The project team undertook a detailed economic analysis of the actual effect of the alleged behaviour.

Investigation of MTN-Afrihost merger
Genesis was retained by the Competition Commission to assist it in an investigation into the proposed acquisition of a mobile data service provider, Afrihost, by the mobile operator MTN. The project team advised the commission on the definition of the market and on dominance at this level, as well as on the various theories of harm advanced by a number of competitors.

HPCSA vs Buchanan
Whether corporate ownership of healthcare providers can improve efficiency and lower prices is a hotly contested topic in the healthcare sector. In this case an individual who operated a large franchise of optometrists put this topic on trial. The person lodged a competition law complaint that the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) was involved in a restrictive horizontal practice by not permitting corporate ownership. Genesis was retained by the HPCSA to provide an expert economic view of whether this was the case.

Expert advice on casino gaming definitions
Genesis was consulted by the attorneys for Sun International for expert advice regarding the appropriate market definition for both casino gaming and limited pay-out machines (LPMs), as well as about whether these could be considered to constitute a single market.

Expert report gets green light for grain storage merger
Genesis was retained by Afgri, a major South African agribusiness, to prepare an expert economic report for the proposed leasing of grain and oilseed silos from MGK. The Competition Commission had previously investigated grain and oilseed storage practices, and had referred an abuse of dominance complaint against Senwes.

Expert advice on purchase of Lanseria airport
Genesis was retained by the Pan African Infrastructure Development Fund (PAIDF) to provide economic advice and an expert report relating to the proposed acquisition of Lanseria International Airport by an investment consortium that included the Public Investment Corporation (PIC).

Expert advice in contested Media24 print merger
Genesis was retained to assess the effects of the proposed move from joint to sole control of the Natal Witness publishing group by Media24, which had evoked substantial opposition from other media groups involved in community newspaper publishing.

Expert analysis of candle wax market
Genesis was commissioned to develop expert economic reports for a number of litigation processes in the candle wax industry, which still provides lighting for millions of households. Sasol Wax faced allegations from candle wax manufacturers of abuses of dominance in arbitration proceedings centred around a contractual dispute, as well as a similar complaint to the Competition Commission.

Expert evidence in Bonitas/Pro Sano merger
Genesis was retained by the parties involved to provide a competitive assessment of the proposed merger of Bonitas and Pro Sano for filing with Competition Commission. The project team’s input was critical in helping them to demonstrate that the proposed amalgamation would have a minimal impact on competition in the medical schemes industry and supported the pro-competitive rationale for the proposed move. The parties obtained merger approval from the Commission promptly. This mitigated solvency concerns for Pro Sano.

Expert analysis on impact of Walmart-Massmart merger
Genesis was appointed to provide expert analysis on Walmart’s proposed acquisition of Massmart by affected trade unions, which were later joined by the Department of Economic Development. This was considered a seminal case regarding public interest issues related to mergers and acquisitions in South Africa.

Consolidation of safety-shoe manufacture
Genesis was approached by all the major safety-shoe manufacturers in South Africa in order to assist them in assessing what the competitive effects would be of a consolidation of the industry and whether this would pass muster under the Competition Act.

Expert evidence in successful seed merger
Genesis was appointed to provide economic analysis to Pioneer Hi Bred International and Pannar Seed in a case for a proposed horizontal merger relating to the breeding, commercialisation and distribution of hybrid maize seed before the Competition Appeal Court.

Analysis in support of merger of major brokers
Genesis was retained to assist AON, one of the world’s top corporate brokers, in its acquisition of Glenrand, one of South Africa's largest brokers. At the time of the merger, both parties were operating as brokers in the short-term insurance industry in South Africa.

Complaint about Kulula's pricing on CT - Durban route
Genesis was retained by the legal advisers to the Kulula airline to assist in responding to a complaint being investigated by the Competition Commission into pricing on the Cape Town to Durban route following the exit of SAA on the route.

Expert economic analysis in bank card merger
Genesis provided expert economic analysis in the approved purchase of bank card and SIM card manufacturer, Namitech, by the world's largest chip maker for smartcards and SIM cards, Gemalto. This seemingly concentrated market demanded careful economic analysis of tender behaviour, potential entry and countervailing power in order to reveal the lack of competitive concerns.

Probe into exclusive steel supply to Indian Railways
Genesis was retained by Luthra and Luthra to assess the nature and competitive effects of an exclusive supply relationship between the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and Indian Railways (IR) in response to a complaint made by Jindal Steel Power Limited (JSPL).

Report takes fizz out of complaint against Coke bottler
Coca-Cola Fortune, a large bottler of Coca-Cola products in South Africa, retained Genesis to provide expert economic analysis in order to determine whether its sole and exclusive distribution arrangements in Limpopo could be considered anti-competitive exclusionary conduct in terms of the Competition Act .

Assistance in accessing university graduate records
Genesis was retained by the legal advisers to Managed Integrity Evaluation, an employee background checking company, to provide economic input in support of an urgent interim relief application against another background checking company that had secured exclusive agreements for access to graduate databases with a number of South African universities.

Expert advice in one of largest telecoms mergers
In one of the largest telecommunications transactions in recent years, Genesis was retained to provide expert testimony and reports on behalf of Africa's largest mobile operator, MTN (South Africa). This related to MTN’s successful acquisition of the African operations of Verizon, one of the largest global communications companies, despite the fact that the merger had been vigorously opposed by a competitor.

Expert report on Senwes acquisition of MGK
Genesis was commissioned to provide an expert economic report related to the filing of the acquisition of the MGK agricultural cooperative by Senwes, another former cooperative. The acquisition raised potential concerns with respect to both grain trading and storage.

Advice on public interest role of minister in competition
Genesis was commissioned by the DTI to develop guidelines for ministerial intervention in competition matters through the championing of public interest. Genesis used its significant knowledge of the Competition Act and case precedence precedent to assess the scope for this kind of intervention in the South African context.

Competition Commission vs Netstar and others
In what has become a landmark case, Genesis was retained by a number of vehicle-tracking companies to provide an independent economic analysis of the allegation that a standard set for the vehicle-tracking industry and its adoption by insurers had the effect of raising barriers to new entrants.

Genesis acts for LPG distributor
Genesis was commissioned to assist a distributor of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in cylinders to formulate an application for interim relief against a large LPG wholesaler and a filling station that it supplied for engaging in practices prohibited in terms of the Competition Act.

Expert analysis as large investment houses merge
Genesis was retained to provide expert economic analysis of the proposed merger between two large investment houses, Remgro and Venfin. This involved a wide range of products and markets, including radio broadcasting, content production and advertising.

Expert testimony in major hostile takeover in mining sector
Genesis was commissioned to provide expert economic testimony before the Competition Tribunal in an ultimately unsuccessful hostile takeover bid for Goldfields by Harmony in the gold mining sector. The focus of the project was on the social dimensions of mining mergers, with particular reference to employment losses.

Expert testimony stops price fixing in soda ash mining
Genesis was commissioned to provide expert testimony and a report in a landmark competition case involving Botswana Ash and the American Natural Soda Ash Corporation (ANSAC), a cartel of American soda ash producers who had successfully opposed similar legal challenges in other countries.

Expert testimony halts initial Telkom merger
Genesis was retained to provide expert economic analysis on behalf of the Internet Service Provider Association (ISPA), which was pivotal in the successful opposition to the initial attempted merger between the incumbent fixed-line operator, Telkom, and one of the largest IT companies operating in South Africa, Business Connexion.

Expert evidence opens way to cable producer merger
Genesis was commissioned to provide expert economic analysis and testimony before the Competition Commission in a case relating to a proposed merger between two of the largest telecommunications cable producers in South Africa, ATC and Aberdare.

Bandwidth holds key to lack of telecoms competition
Genesis was appointed by the World Bank to conduct an assessment of the effects of the introduction of South Africa’s Competition Act in 1998, as well as of its failure to curb the anti-competitive conduct dominating the telecommunications sector. This followed various findings of anti-competitive behaviour in the sector during the 2000s.