South Africa: Competition Law Bulletin

By Stephen Langbridge and Ingrid Rogers, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin

In the recently decided Delatoy case, the Competition Tribunal found that several independent private companies described as the ‘Delatoy Group’ constitute a single ‘firm’ for purposes of the Competition Act. The implications are very important for a controlling company, which may now in certain circumstances be liable for the conduct of subsidiaries and affiliate companies.
The single economic entity doctrine
Competition laws apply to economic activity. The economic actors who carry out this activity are the ones to whom the law confers rights and on whom the law imposes obligations. Competition laws globally recognise the so-called single economic entity doctrine. This is the principle that juristic entities can sometimes be related so closely to each other that it would be artificial to treat them as separate economic actors for purposes of competition law … (see PDF below for full article)