SARAH BULLEN, Cape Town | Monday 3.00pm
STANDARD Bank Investment Corporation (Stanbic) on Monday lost its high court bid to have its proposed acquisition by smaller rival Nedcor adjudicated by the Competition Commission.
Pretoria High Court Acting Judge Nico Coetzee ruled that the minister of finance has the final say about the proposed the hostile takeover, although he has to consult the Competition Commission.
The ruling is expected to set the precedent for how banking mergers will be regulated in the future — a grey area in the Competitions Act.
Stanbic applied for two separate approvals in terms of the the Banks Act and the Competition Act to have the final say on the takeover. Nedcor, supported by the Finance Ministry, argued that this competency resides with Banks Act under the auspices of the Registrar of Banks alone.
The ruling may speed up the process as it means that Nedcor’s bid will not have to drag through a full scrutiny of the Competition Board as well as banking authorities.
The judge said the Registrar of Long Term Insurance also had to approve of Nedcor’s proposed acquisition of the majority of shares in Stanbic because Old Mutal would in effect take over Liberty Life, which is a subsidiary of Stanbic.
Liberty Life is Old Mutual’s main competitor in the field of long term insurance.