The Competition Tribunal (“Tribunal”) has conditionally approved the proposed merger in which Ninety One Ltd will acquire Sanlam Investment Management (Pty) Ltd (“SIM”), a subsidiary of Sanlam Investment Holdings (Pty) Ltd (“SIH”). Once the merger is implemented, Ninety One Ltd will exercise sole control over SIM.
 
The Tribunal’s approval is subject to a range of conditions designed to safeguard competition, protect employees and promote transformation. Among others, these involve confidentiality and information-sharing protocols, business separation measures, a moratorium on merger-related retrenchments, support for transformation initiatives aimed at facilitating the participation of small and HDP-owned asset management firms and stockbrokers, and enterprise and supplier development commitments.
 
Ninety One Ltd, which is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, controls several firms in South Africa. Among them is Ninety One Investment Platform (Pty) Ltd, which provides investment administration services as a Linked Investment Service Provider ("LISP"). The Ninety One Group (Ninety One and its controlled firms) operates globally, managing a wide range of financial products and services including equities, fixed income, multi-asset and alternative investments.
 
SIM is a wholly owned subsidiary of SIH, which is ultimately controlled by Sanlam Limited. SIM primarily provides single-manager active asset management and risk management services to retail and institutional clients in South Africa and Europe.