Concerns about monopoly
South African hospitality firm Sun International, which owns and operates casinos and hotels in Africa and Latin America, has shelved a plan to buy rival casino owner the Peermont Group, according to Reuters.
Sun International spokesman Michael Farr said the company has informed the country’s Competition Tribunal that “we have abandoned our intention to merge, and will not be taking any further steps to implement the merger.”
In 2015, Sun announced its intention to buy 100 percent of Peermont’s holding company, Maxshell 114, which owns and operates several hotels and eight casinos in Africa. But the anti-trust Competition Commission turned thumbs-down on the plan, saying it would create a monopoly in Gauteng, which Reuters described as “the nation’s most populous and prosperous province.”
A statement from the tribunal confirmed the end of the deal, saying, “The parties asked for the case to be removed from the roll.”
