- Overview
- Significant Matters
Overview
Competition law presents various challenges for companies doing business in Africa. The number of competition law regimes across Africa has increased significantly in recent years and national regulators across the continent are increasingly active.
There are also a number of regional organisations regulating competition law, for example, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), and the East African Community (EAC), which are also strengthening their enforcement powers to effectively regulate competition law at a regional level.
We are at the forefront of developments in African competition law. We monitor competition law developments in various jurisdictions, consider the impact on our clients’ business activities in Africa and strive to develop the application of the law pragmatically. Our internationally recognised competition law experts participate in special committees on competition law; actively comment on draft legislation, guidelines and amendments in a variety of African countries; and regularly contribute to local and international competition law publications. We are committed to the representation of our clients’ interests and are proud to be involved in most of the prominent competition law cases across Africa.
We provide a full range of competition and anti-trust law services including in relation to: merger control, cartels and markets, abuse of dominance and other restrictive practices, and trade issues such as the implications of commercial and exclusivity agreements, joint ventures and strategic alliances. We also provide competition law compliance training and conduct competition law audits. We have significant depth of experience in, and knowledge of, a variety of sectors.
Our clients include local and international businesses operating in Africa as well as multi-national operations investing in Africa.
We were named Competition Team of the Year for 2020, at the prestigious African Legal Awards hosted by Legal Week and the Corporate Lawyers Association of South Africa.
We have consistently been included in the GCR 100, a ranking of the world’s top 100 competition law firms, and, according to IFLR1000, we are ‘most definitely considered a front-runner in the market’ and our peers praise the ‘consistent quality’ of our work.
Chambers and Partners, 2022
‘market-leading law firm sought out for its deep subject matter expertise and its involvement in some of the largest matters in the domestic market, across the African continent and globally’
‘advises blue-chip domestic and multinational clients on the competition aspects of high-value M&A transactions in industries such as manufacturing, technology, telecoms, entertainment and consumer goods’
‘houses a respected contentious practice with notable experience in cartel conduct, price fixing and abuse of dominance proceedings, among other areas of prohibited practices’
Legal 500, 2021
‘has continued to cement its market leading position in South Africa and Africa-wide competition matters and has strongly focused on developing key relationships with competition regulators around Africa’
‘at the forefront of merger control, tapping into the firm’s outstanding record in cross-border M&A’
‘Outstanding legal advice is to be expected from a top legal firm, but it was the proactive, hands-on engagement of the Bowmans antitrust team throughout a protracted and complex antitrust process, which really stood out.’
‘responsive to tight timelines and provided good practical advice. They stand out from other firms on both counts.’
the go-to firm for African filings’