7 Judgment No. SC 52/18 Civil Appeal No. SC 560/17 companies that have the capacity and potential of engaging in anti-competitive practices detrimental to consumer welfare, such as price increases and poor service delivery. For the reason that all mergers recognised under competition law have the potential to negatively affect competition in the market, special laws have been designed to regulate mergers. The Competition Act [Chapter 14:28] Act No 7 of 1996 came into force in 1998. Section 2 of the Act defined a merger as follows: “’merger’ means – (a) the acquisition of a controlling interest in (i) an undertaking involved in the production or distribution of any commodity or service; or (ii) an asset which is or may be utilised for or in connection with the production or distribution of any commodity; where the person who acquires the controlling interest already has a controlling interest in any undertaking involved in the production or distribution of the same commodity or service; or (b) the acquisition of a controlling interest in an undertaking whose business consists wholly or substantially in – (i) supplying a commodity or service to the person who acquires the controlling interest; or (ii) distributing a commodity or service produced by the person who acquires the controlling interest;”. This definition was clear as to the types of mergers it covered. Part (a) covered situations where a person acquired a controlling interest in an undertaking producing the same commodity or service (competitors). That was a horizontal merger. Part (b) covered situations where a person