According to BusinessTech, the Competition Commission has filed an application with the Competition Tribunal to revoke its earlier conditional approval of the R6.5 billion merger between Premier Group and RFG Holdings.
The commission originally gave a conditional approval in March 2026, meaning the merger could go ahead only if certain promises were kept. Those promises included protecting existing jobs and confirming that no manufacturing facility, production line or major equipment would be closed, sold or merged after the deal. The commission said the parties repeatedly assured the Tribunal that they did not plan to shut any plant.
Four months after the merger was completed, Premier informed the commission that it intended to close the Fruit Processing Western Cape (FPWC) cannery in Tulbagh, Western Cape. FPWC is a 72-year-old fruit-canning plant, one of only two such facilities in South Africa. It supplies an estimated 200 Western Cape fruit growers and exports roughly 90 % of its output. The plant employs more than 400 permanent and fixed-term staff and supports thousands of seasonal workers throughout the agricultural value chain.
Premier said the decision was driven by long-term structural problems in the global canned-fruit market. A detailed assessment in July 2026 concluded that the plant would not be viable for the upcoming harvest season, and the board voted not to reopen it. The company cited deteriorating international demand and the high cost of exporting canned fruit as the main reasons.
The commission argues that Premier and RFG failed to disclose the contemplated closure when they sought the merger approval. It says the information was material, i.e., important enough to affect the regulator’s assessment, because the commission had explicitly asked for confirmation of post-merger plans for any plant closures, integrations or consolidations. By withholding that information, the companies denied the commission and the Tribunal an opportunity to evaluate the competition and public-interest impact before signing off on the deal.
Potential impact on growers and competition
If the Tulbagh cannery is shut, the only remaining competitor to the Langeberg canneries would be eliminated, creating a de-facto monopoly in the South African canned-fruit market. The commission warns that this would reduce competition, drive up processing costs for fruit growers, and limit export capacity. For the roughly 200 growers that rely on FPWC, the loss of a local processing option could mean longer transport times, higher logistics costs and reduced bargaining power.
In addition to the competition concerns, the commission highlights the public-interest consequences: the loss of more than 400 permanent jobs, the disappearance of thousands of seasonal positions, and the removal of a long-standing customer for local suppliers. The regulator says these factors justify a revocation of the merger approval.
Should the tribunal agree to revoke the approval, the merger could be unwound or require significant remedial actions, such as divesting the cannery or providing compensation to affected workers and growers. The outcome will affect not only the two merging companies but also the broader fruit-processing ecosystem, which includes many small-scale growers that depend on reliable, affordable processing capacity.
For readers in the agri-business sector, the case underscores the importance of transparent post-merger planning, especially where a small number of facilities dominate a supply chain. It also illustrates how regulatory conditions can shape the strategic decisions of large companies, with knock-on effects for thousands of smaller enterprises.
Further details on the commission’s application can be followed through the Competition Tribunal’s proceedings. The case is likely to be watched closely by other industries where consolidation could threaten competition and employment.
Read more about similar regulatory actions in our Regulatory & Policy coverage.
The commission’s action was triggered after worker unions lodged a formal complaint alleging that the shutdown breached the merger conditions. An investigation confirmed that Premier and RFG had not disclosed the contemplated closure to either the commission or the Tribunal, despite having discussed the option before the merger received conditional approval. The unions’ grievance highlighted the loss of more than 400 permanent and fixed-term staff and the broader impact on thousands of seasonal workers, prompting the regulator to scrutinise the parties’ compliance with the employment safeguards embedded in the original approval.
In its filing, the commission stressed that the undisclosed closure was material to its assessment because it directly affected competition and public-interest considerations. The regulator had explicitly requested confirmation that no plant would be closed, integrated or consolidated after the deal, and the omission denied the commission an opportunity to evaluate the likely monopoly effects. By withholding such information, the parties undermined the integrity of the merger-control regime, a breach that the commission says can justify revoking an approved merger.
The application now before the Competition Tribunal sets out the procedural steps that will follow. The tribunal will hold a hearing where both the commission and the merging parties can present evidence and arguments. After deliberation, the tribunal may order the merger to be unwound, require the divestiture of the Tulbagh cannery, or impose remedial measures such as compensation to affected growers and workers. The decision will be issued within a statutory timeframe after the hearing, providing clarity on the legal status of the transaction.
Should the tribunal confirm the revocation, the removal of the Tulbagh facility would leave Langeberg as the sole canning operation, effectively creating a monopoly in South Africa’s canned-fruit sector. This concentration would likely drive up processing costs for the roughly 200 growers that depend on the plant and could curtail the country’s export capacity, given that about 90 % of the factory’s output is sold overseas. The loss of a long-standing customer for local suppliers would also reverberate through the regional agricultural supply chain.
