CTC approves Delta’s acquisition of MBC

The Competition and Tariff Commission (CTC) has approved Delta‘s purchase of Mutare Bottling Company (MBC) from mobile communications giant Econet Wireless.

The transaction, which started a few years ago, was subject to regulatory approvals, hence the regulator announced that it has given Delta the green light in its latest filing.

Some time last year, Delta disclosed that the it was finalising discussions with The Coca-Cola Company for the extension of the sparkling beverages franchise territory to include Manicaland and has entered an agreement to purchase the bottling assets of MBC.

The beverage giant called the acquisition a welcome development which will allow the company to leverage on its scale and combined asset base to meet the sparkling beverages demand across the country.

Delta bottles and sells Coca-Cola brands under licence from The Coca-Cola Company.

The Competition and Tariff Commission (Commission) is a statutory body established under the Competition Act [Chapter 14:28]. The present Commission is a product of the merger in 2001 of the former Industry and Trade Competition Commission (ITCC) and Tariff Commission (TC).

The ITCC had been established under the Competition Act, 1996 (No.7 of 1996) as a competition, regulatory authority, while the TC had been established under the Tariff Commission Act [ Chapter 14:29] as a trade tariffs advisory authority.

Both the ITCC and TC had commenced operations in 1998. The merger of the ITCC and TC was provided for under the Competition Amendment Act, 2001 (No.29 of 2001), which also repealed the Tariff Commission Act [Chapter 14:29].

The Commission therefore has the twin mandates of implementing  Zimbabwe’s competition policy and execution of the country’s trade tariffs policy, with the primary objective of enforcing the Competition Act [Chapter 14:28].

-Zwnews