By Lebone Rodah Mosima
The Competition Commission has moved to revoke approval of the Premier-RFG merger after finding that the companies failed to disclose plans that could see more than 400 workers lose their jobs, and South Africa’s fruit-canning market effectively reduced to a monopoly.
It said on Wednesday that Premier Group Limited and RFG Holdings Limited failed to disclose information about the contemplated closure of RFG’s Tulbagh fruit-canning facility during the merger review, according to the Competition Commission.
It said the parties had known of and discussed the option before the Competition Tribunal approved the merger on 6 March 2026. It was implemented on 30 March 2026.
The commission filed an application with the Competition Tribunal on Tuesday seeking the revocation of the tribunal’s decision to conditionally approve the merger.
The approval was subject to conditions that included employment protections.
“Before the merger was referred to the tribunal, the merger parties stated that they did not contemplate closing nor disposing of any manufacturing facilities or production lines, or equipment after the merger,” the commission said in a statement on Wednesday.
“They repeated this assurance before the tribunal approved the transaction, confirming that they did not contemplate closing, integrating or consolidating their respective production facilities.”
In July 2026, Premier informed the commission that it intended to close RFG’s fruit-canning facility in Tulbagh, Western Cape. It is one of only two fruit-canning facilities in South Africa and provides an important route to market for approximately 200 Western Cape fruit growers.
“It is also a significant regional employer and its proposed closure would affect more than 400 permanent and fixed-term employees, as well as thousands of seasonal workers across the broader agricultural value chain,” the commission said.
The decision follows a complaint lodged by, among others, the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union.
“The complainant alleged that the planned closure of this cannery would result in retrenchments in breach of the merger conditions,” the commission said.
Its investigation found that Premier and RFG had failed to disclose information about the contemplated closure to the commission and the tribunal. This was despite the parties having known of and discussed the option to do so before merger was approved.
The commission said this information was material to its assessment, particularly because it had expressly requested confirmation of the parties’ post-merger plans regarding the closure, integration or consolidation of their production facilities.
The non-disclosure denied it and the tribunal an opportunity to assess and address the competition and public interest implications of the proposed closure before approving the merger.
“Withholding material information, whether by omission or as a deliberate act, undermines the integrity of the merger control regime and may result in the revocation of an approved merger.”
The closure would remove the only competitor to Langeberg from the South African market, effectively creating a monopoly in the sector, it warned.
“The public interest consequences would also be significant, including the aforementioned loss of permanent and seasonal jobs, farmers would lose a longstanding customer and exports would decline,” the commission said.
Competition Commissioner Doris Tshepe said the integrity of South Africa’s merger control regime depends on merger parties making full, frank and honest disclosure of all material information.
“The commission cannot properly assess the competition and public interest consequences of a transaction when crucial facts are withheld,” Tshepe said.
“Where parties fail to meet this obligation, the Commission will not hesitate to take appropriate action to protect the integrity of the regulatory process.”
According to the Southern African Legal Information Institute, the merger conditions included a three-year moratorium on retrenchments resulting from the merger.
However, conditions allowed retrenchments for operational requirements unrelated to the merger.
It also said it provided that any retrenchment during the moratorium period is presumed to be merger specific unless the merged entity can demonstrate otherwise.
Cosatu has welcomed the application, saying revocation is a major and rare milestone in South African competition policy.
“The commission has demonstrated that the merger control process, when properly resourced and enforced, can be a genuine instrument of economic justice.
“As Cosatu, we remain committed to defending the workers of Tulbagh, Saron, Gouda, Wolseley, Ceres and Hermon and the surrounding communities who have depended on this canning factory for decades,” it said in a statement.
