Antitrust and Competition

Competition law – also known as anti-trust law in some countries, seeks to promote fair trade and competition in the national, regional and global economy. Its purpose is to prevent cartels from dominating certain areas of trade to the detriment of consumers and to prevent abuse of dominance by dominant undertakings in the economy to the detriment of other players and the consumers. 

IKM is proud to be able to bring to the table a wealth of experience in both the public and private sectors with more than 15 years’ experience in this field of law.

Capabilities

• Merger applications
• Under the Competition Act, transactions (acquisition of shares or other securities in a company or undertaking of acquisition of business and assets) which result in a change of control would require the prior approval of the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) for them to be valid in law. IKM acts for clients involved in mergers and acquisitions, private equity, reorganization and restructuring, obtaining the relevant approvals for their transactions from the CAK.
• For transactions falling below a certain prescribed combined turnover threshold (currently less than USD10 million), we obtain exemptions/exclusions from notification and/or reorganization from the CAK.
• With respect to transactions involving two or more countries in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) economic block, we act for clients to obtain merger approvals from the COMESA Competition Commission pursuant to the COMESA competition regulations.
• Assessing, reviewing and advising on anti-competitive agreements and anti-competitive conduct, including with respect to horizontal and vertical agreements and trade dealings between undertakings. Such agreements include: distributorship agreements, agency agreements and supplier contracts.
• Advising on abuse of dominance matters, including what constitutes dominance within the meaning of the Competition Act, evaluating abuse of dominance allegations or possibilities, and advising on the conduct that would amount to abuse, including exclusionary and exploitative abuses as envisaged under the Competition Act.
• Advising clients (particularly those within the fast-moving consumer goods sectors) on matters relating to restrictive trade practices and how potential infractions can be avoided, eliminated and / or remedied.
• Representing and acting for clients in investigations and enforcement actions opened and carried out by the CAK for alleged breach of restrictive trade practices. Where appropriate, we successfully negotiated on behalf of our clients for settlements with the CAK for breach of restrictive trade practices such as price fixing, cartels, and market divisions. Such negotiations and settlements are carried out within the CAK leniency program which is anchored in the Competition Act.
• Rendering opinions on all aspects of, and matters and conduct regulated by, the Competition Act, the Consumer Protection Act, the East African Community Competition Act 2006 and the COMESA competition regulations.