Transaction and retrenchments to be paused until it receives approval from competition authorities.
In a stunning reversal, South African media group Media24 has halted plans to close several print titles and dismiss employees, pending regulatory approval for the planned sale of its distribution business On the Dot to Novus.
Novus is one of southern Africa’s most prominent print, publishing, and packaging groups. It has a longstanding relationship with Media24 and prints all of its newspapers. Says Ishmet Davidson, CEO of Media24: “It never was our intention to do so before approval from the relevant authorities since the sale of On the Dot is a direct consequence of our intention to close the affected titles. However, it is important to note that this undertaking does not include ceasing the Section 189 consultation process related to the affected newspaper titles. As we have said on numerous occasions, we intend to comply with the relevant regulatory and statutory requirements.
A merger review by the Competition Commission could be lengthy, especially if a third party opposes it.
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