Blocking Burger King deal shows SA is serious about transformation, says top law firm

The Competition Commission's move to block the Burger King and Grand Parade Investment's merger for not meeting black ownership requirements sends a strong message on how hard South Africa intends to drive Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) going forward.

This is according to lawyers from Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, who spoke about how SA is regulating ownership and transformation through law and policy during a webinar hosted by the firm on Thursday. 

"The decision does send a strong signal to the market about how seriously the policy is taken. It will come across as a very binary decision, and I think it will put a lot of questions in dealmakers' minds," said Chris Charter, the director of competition law at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, during the webinar.