Lital has assisted clients on the interpretation of competition laws across several African jurisdictions and in respect of all areas of competition law including:

• vertical and horizontal restrictive practices;
• abuse of dominance;
• national and regional merger control (including public interest considerations);
• prosecutions and competition litigation; and
• competition audits, compliance and training.

She has been involved in several key and complex mergers, including hostile takeovers and multi-jurisdictional transactions and several behavioural investigations.

Lital has also been involved in various matters heard before the South African Competition Tribunal, Competition Appeal Court and High Court, as well as courts in other African jurisdictions – including the Namibian High Court and Supreme Court and the Tanzanian Fair Competition Tribunal and High Court.

Lital has assisted clients in South Africa and Namibia in preparing competition compliance materials and conducting training, and more broadly, has conducted reviews and provided compliance advice to clients across a range of sectors.

Notable Mergers which Lital has advised include:

• Allianz SE in relation to the Sanlam/Allianz Joint Venture which won DealMakers Deal of the Year 2022 and was awarded the DealMakers Africa Special Recognition Award. The deal was described as a transaction that “reshapes the African insurance industry”. It involved “27 countries and 12 overlapping countries, creating complexity in terms of valuations, due diligence and regulatory approvals”.
• NCR Corporation in respect of its proposed acquisition, through Spark ATM Systems Proprietary Limited, of the banking business of Altron Managed Solutions, requiring merger filings in South Africa and various other African jurisdictions.
• Coca-Cola Beverages Africa Limited in relation to its acquisition of the soft drinks business of Castel Malawi Limited, requiring a COMESA filing.
• Aton GmbH in respect of its proposed hostile takeover of Murray & Roberts Ltd. The transaction was opposed by the Competition Commission in South Africa, as well as by the target firm (but approved elsewhere in Africa). The matter also involved an urgent interdict application lodged by the target firm before the Competition Tribunal and Competition Appeal Court of South Africa seeking to restrain Aton and its related companies from exercising voting rights in respect of the target firm, which was successfully defended and which set notable precedent.
• Lital assisted with the following market conduct and investigations where she advised:
• Namibian Competition Commission in respect of complaint proceedings against the Namibian Association of Medical Aid Funds (NAMAF) and its member medical aid funds before the High Court and the Supreme Court of Namibia.
• Namibian Competition Commission in respect of the settlement reached between the Commission and four companies under investigation for alleged price fixing in the insurance sector in Namibia. Bowmans advised the Commission in respect of the discussions, negotiations and settlement that were concluded.
• South Africa Bus Operators Association (SABOA) in relation to the non-referral of the Competition Commission’s investigation into bus operators following the competition complaint made by the Taxi Association of South Africa.