The Competition Commission of South Africa (“Commission”) has published its Draft Guidelines on Minority Protections (“Draft Guidelines”), providing its view on when minority shareholder protections may amount to an acquisition of “control” and require merger control approval. Comments on the Draft Guidelines are due by 20 January 2026 at 16h30.
DLA Piper has represented South Africa's leading banks in the acquisition by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), Capitec Bank and Investec Bank of shares in the South African Bankers Services Company (PayInc, formerly known as BankServ), Africa's leading automated clearing house (ACH).
DLA Piper advised Remgro Limited, a leading South African investment holding company, and its subsidiaries on a share subscription and exchange transaction with eMedia Holdings Limited (eMedia), a company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), and the subsequent unbundling by Remgro of the eMedia shares it received from eMedia to Remgro's shareholders (Transaction).
On 25 October 2023, in Van Wyk and Others v Minister of Employment and Labour [2023] ZAGPJHC the Gauteng High Court declared that the provisions of sections 25, 25A, 25B and 25C of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 (BCEA) are invalid on the basis that they infringe the rights to equality and dignity in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa insofar as they unfairly discriminate between mothers and fathers; and between one set of parents and another on the basis of whether the children were born of the mother; conceived by surrogacy; or adopted. The corresponding sections 24, 26A, 27 and 29A of the Unemployment Insurance Fund Act, 2001 (UIF Act) were similarly found to be invalid. The declaration of invalidity was required to be confirmed by the Constitutional Court.
Code of Good Practice: Dismissal The new Code of Good Practice: Dismissal (Code) came into effect on 4 September 2025 and replaces Schedule 8: Code of Good Practice: Dismissal and the Code of Good Practice on Dismissal Based on Operational Requirements. The Code sets out guidelines for carrying out dismissals in South Africa.