The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) on Monday approved the proposed indirect control of a minerals exploration company with operations at the Coast by an Australian Corporation.
In a statement issued by the Authority on Tuesday, the CAK approved the Australian company's acquisition of 100 per cent of outstanding shares of the exploration company.
The company being acquired owns and operates a mineral mine in Kwale County, Kenya where it explores ilmenite, rutile and zircon mainly for export.
“The proposed transaction involves the acquisition of 100 per cent of the issued and outstanding shares in the capital by way of a scheme of arrangement in exchange for shares in the capital of Energy Fuels Inc,” stated the CAK.
According to CAK, the approval was granted to the organisation based on the finding that the transaction is unlikely to negatively impact competition in the market for titanium minerals in Kenya.
Further CAK stated that the proposed merger would not elicit negative public interest concerns, which was one of the two key considerations during merger analysis.
The Australian company, on the other hand cited a diversification of its mining portfolio as its reason to proceed with the merger.
CAK is mandated by the law to undertake scrutiny of all parties that are interested in a merger or takeovers in transactions where assets turnover at stake exceed Ksh1 billion.
“Further, merging parties whose combined turnover or assets, whichever is higher, is over Ksh1 billion are required to seek approval from the Authority prior to implementing the proposed transaction, “stated CAK.
The latest transaction met this threshold for mandatory notification and full analysis under the Competition (General) Rules.
This decision to hand over control comes months after the company with operations in Kenya announced shutting down its operations in Kwale at the end of 2024.
The company cited resource exhaustion in the area and as such, the government established the Post Mining Land Use (PMLU) committee to oversee the closure of the mine.
