According to the Merger Control Statistical Bulletin (BECC) 2023, prepared by ARC to which Lusa had access today, 17 acts of concentration were notified to the body, the majority in the oil sector (29 percent) and 16 acts were deliberated, being 100 percent non-opposition decisions.
As a result of the payment of the fee for the assessment of concentration acts, in 2023 there was a total collection of 58 million kwanzas, 60 percent of which reverted to ARC and the remainder allocated to the Single Treasury Account .
In the period from 2021 to 2022, ARC raised a total amount of 97 million kwanzas as a result of the resolution of 40 acts of concentration of companies, compared to 58 million kwanzas in 2023.
According to the BECC, released on Thursday, the value transacted between the companies involved in the mergers considered reached 2.6 billion kwanzas compared to 5.6 billion kwanzas in the previous period.
The majority of concentration acts, in 2023, occurred in the oil sector, with a total of five acts notified, followed by the Construction sector with two acts. The others occurred in the agricultural, banking, concrete, bitumen, water pumps, catering, cement and other sectors with one act each.
Regarding the nature of the acts notified, the BECC notes, 16 of these refer to the acquisition, total or partial, of companies and assets and one resulted in a merger.
In this annual exercise, of the acts notified, six had national companies as acquirers and eleven had foreign companies as acquirers, without local representation, highlights the ARC, adding that ten of the total notifications, which involved international acquirers, were of an acquisition nature.
The statistical bulletin from the competition regulator adds that, as part of market monitoring, investigations were also carried out into the possible occurrence of “Gun-Jumping” (consummation of an act and concentration without due notification to the ARC), having concluded the year 2023 with twelve cases under investigation.
In this context, at the end of the 2022 financial year, ARC imposed a fine equivalent to 1 percent of the turnover generated by two companies in the oil sector, as a result of violation of the duty of prior notification, the bulletin also highlights.
ARC considers the control of acts of concentration of companies (analysis and approval of mergers and acquisitions) a “crucial mechanism” in its activities, which aims to prevent monopolies and the abuse of a dominant position, through monitoring the movements of strengthening power and closing the market.
This supervision is carried out through mandatory prior notification to the ARC of mergers with potential impact on competition, highlights the BECC.
