The Competition Commission has recommended that the Competition Tribunal approve the acquisition of South African insurer King Price and tech-based consultancy Procupine Union without conditions.
The acquiring firms in the deal are Orient Victoria and KP Partners.
KP Partners already has ties to the King Price business. The groups have shared company secretaries, while among KP Partners’ three directors, one is the CEO of King Price.
According to the commission, the Singapore-based Orient Victoria is ultimately controlled by “an individual” who also controls Cartrack Proprietary Limited and its subsidiaries.
Following the SEC filing for Cartrack owner Karooooo, as well as the registry information for Orient Victoria in Singapore, it’s easy to trace this back to the group’s founder, billionaire Zak Calisto.
MyBroadband obtained the relevant company records from Singapore’s corporate regulatory authority, confirming Calisto as the sole director.
Calisto, whose name is Isaias Jose Calisto, is listed as the majority shareholder of Karooooo and Cartrack, as well as the sole director of Orient Victoria.
Karooooo’s filings also note that IJ Caliso holds a beneficial interest in Orient Victoria, which lends and advances finances to the group.
According to the commission, Cartrack is of interest to the deal because it offers vehicle tracking, fleet management, stolen-vehicle recovery, insurance telematics, broking services, and related analytics in South Africa.
King Price Financial Services is a licensed insurance provider offering life and non-life insurance products, including car insurance, which is the relevant activity for the purpose of assessing this transaction, the commission said.
Porcupine Union, meanwhile, is a technology-oriented consultancy firm which provides data-driven solutions using statistics, machine learning, collection optimisation and lead generation modelling.
With all the ties aired out, the commission said it is of the view that the proposed transaction is unlikely to substantially lessen or prevent competition in any market.
It added that the proposed transaction does not raise public interest concerns.
