South Africa: M&A/Private Equity

This comprehensive legal update from ENS Africa covers critical developments across multiple practice areas, from South Africa's Draft National Rail Master Plan and new SAHPRA guidelines for medicine naming...

The Constitutional Court's decision in Absa Bank Ltd v SARS marks a pivotal shift in how South African courts approach tax avoidance structures, moving beyond technical compliance to examine the true commercial substance of transactions. This judgment signals a broader regulatory trend where authorities increasingly look through carefully engineered corporate structures to ask what was really happening, challenging the long-held assumption that technical legal compliance provides immunity from scrutiny.

ENS Africa provides comprehensive legal updates spanning competition law, tax developments, environmental regulation, and digital finance across multiple African jurisdictions. From South Africa's increased merger thresholds and VAT amendments affecting insurance to Mauritius criminalizing ecocide and Rwanda implementing cross-border digital VAT, these insights reveal the evolving regulatory landscape shaping business operations throughout the continent.

Many M&A deals in South Africa fall short because of integration drag. This is the friction that happens when a deal closes but the operations are not ready for the next level.

On 4 December 2025, the COMESA Council of Ministers adopted the COMESA Competition and Consumer Protection Regulations, 2025, which repealed the old regime effective 5 December 2025.

Competition authorities of four African regional economic communities have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening cooperation...

In South Africa, all companies and close corporations must disclose beneficial ownership information to the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC).

David A. Asiedu connects with our East African office heads to explore key trends and opportunities shaping the region's evolving business landscape...

A UK colleague, Jayne McGlynn (Strategic Corporate Partner, M&A at DWF), recently described a "quiet crisis": experienced GCs being "restructured" out and replaced by contract lawyers...