The Competition Commission has recommended that Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) Corporation's R24.4 billion takeover of Dimension Data be allowed to go ahead, and the matter is set to be heard by the Competition Tribunal tomorrow.
Dimension Data announced in July that Japan-based NTT had offered to buy out the company for £2.1 billion. Shareholders have until 11 October to accept the offer, and so far, shareholders holding 79.7% have accepted the deal.
The commission's recommendation that the deal should go ahead clears another regulatory hurdle before the deal can be implemented. The commission's higher body, the Competition Tribunal, will hear the matter tomorrow morning, which is one of the final steps before NTT can go ahead with its buy-out.
Last month, the buy-out was approved by South African finance minister Pravin Gordhan and the Exchange Control Department of the South African Reserve Bank. That approval followed antitrust clearance from the European Commission to go ahead with the offer a week earlier.
There are still two outstanding regulatory approvals, one from the Independent Communications Authority of SA and one from a US authority.
Although the deal is making steady progress towards being finalised, it has not been without controversy, as the Financial Services Board will look into whether leaked information caused suspicious trading in Dimension Data shares just before the company announced the acquisition.
Meanwhile, NTT subsidiary NTT Communications says its Thailand unit has expanded in the country and will open its third branch office at the end of the month.
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