Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed technology company, Altron, has been forced to defer the sale of its automated teller machine (ATM) business to US firm NCR due to outstanding regulatory approval in Namibia.
The deal, worth an estimated N$183 million, has already received approvals in South Africa, Botswana, and Eswatini.
However, the Namibian Competition Commission (NaCC) says it is still investigating the transaction to ensure that there are no competition concerns for Namibia.
“The Altron deal is still under investigation by the Commission as required by the Competition Act. Although the deal has been approved in other countries, the Commission has to ascertain whether there are no competition concerns for Namibia,” said NaCC spokesperson Dina //Gowases told The Brief.
The transaction was first announced last October, when Altron revealed its intention to sell the ATM Hardware and Support Business portion of its Altron Managed Solutions division to NCR. The N$183-million deal was subject to regulatory approvals in countries where Altron had a presence.
In South Africa, the Competition Commission (CompCom) approved the deal last month. However, the CompCom approved the transaction with conditions, as the deal did not promote greater spread of ownership to historically disadvantaged persons (HDPs) and workers.
“To address this, the merging parties have agreed to, among others, implement a transaction that will transfer a minimum percentage of the target business to either HDPs or to workers. The merging parties have also made commitments in relation to skills, enterprise, and supplier development,” said the CompCom.
Altron has informed shareholders that due to the outstanding approval in Namibia, conclusion of the transaction has been deferred.
“Whilst the regulatory approvals for the transaction have been received from the South African, Botswana and Eswatini Competition Commissions, regulatory approval from the Namibia Competition Commission is still outstanding and thus, the parties have agreed to extend the date for the fulfilment or waiver (to the extent permissible) of the conditions precedent to 24 April 2023,” the company said.
