Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed technology company, Altron, is now expected to complete the sale of its automated teller machine (ATM) business to US firm NCR after the Namibian Competition Commission (NaCC) approved the merger of two local entities related to the deal.
RCK Investment and Altron Technologies Namibia have been granted approval by the NaCC to merge, with newly established RCK Investment acquiring all the issued share capital of Altron Technologies Namibia.
RCK Investment currently does not operate in the Namibian market, but serves as a special purpose vehicle for the acquisition.
Altron Technologies Namibia, on the other hand, is a subsidiary of JSE-listed Altron and is actively involved in providing information technology equipment, auxiliary products, and services to the Namibian market, including ATM services, retail point-of-sale machines, printing, and IT support.
“A crucial aspect of the merger approval process was the competition analysis, which assessed the potential impact on market conditions. The Namibian Competition Commission determined that the proposed merger would not result in the elimination of competition or significantly lessen it, as it represents a change in ownership at the management level,” NaCC spokesperson Dina //Gowases said.
The deal, worth an estimated N$183 million, has already received approvals in South Africa, Botswana, and Eswatini.
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 approved the deal with conditions, as the deal did not promote a greater spread of ownership to historically disadvantaged persons and workers.
In February, the company had been forced to defer the sale due to outstanding regulatory approval in Namibia.
