Clover under fire amid restructuring, unions push for nationalisation

The Competition Commission is investigating whether Clover’s new Israeli owner flouted its commitments to the competition authorities, as unions urge government to nationalise the dairy company if a resolution is not found.

In 2019, the Competition Tribunal approved the R5 billion buyout of South Africa's largest dairy company by Milco, which has Tel Aviv-based Central Bottling Company as its majority shareholder.

The new owner committed to create 550 jobs within five years following the approval of the merger, and agreed to a moratorium on the retrenchment of 516 positions for a period of three years.