Johannesburg - The Competition Tribunal will on Wednesday hear the proposed merger between billionaire Patrice Motsepe's African Rainbow Capital (ARC) and ooba, which will give ARC control of ooba.
In this merger application the Competition Commission has proposed a separation of board members involved in three of the firms affected by the merger.
ARC, the acquiring firm ultimately controlled by the Motsepe Family Trust and launched by Mosepe and two Sanlam veterans in April 2016, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ubuntu-Botho Investments (UBI). UBI is a broad-based black empowerment investment holding company that is Sanlam’s empowerment partner.
Motsepe, ARC chairperson, runs the money management firm along with former Sanlam Group CEO Dr Johan van Zyl and former Sanlam Investments CEO Johan van der Merwe.
ARC controls a number of companies, including an insurance broker company that provides intermediary services to registered and approved insurers that offer insurance solutions for personal lines, business insurance and risk consulting. It also holds an 18.1% stake in telecommunications company Metrofibre Networx.
Ooba is not controlled by any company and provides services that assist home buyers in sourcing bond financing for residential property, as well as financial services that include security for building and mortgage protection insurance, and personal cover of household services.
The merger provides a challenge based on some overlap in the short- and long-term insurance markets and some shareholding links between companies in the sector.