It’s all systems go for Wal-Mart

WAL-MART yesterday wrapped up its much contested merger with Massmart, paving the way for the retailer to take-over Game, Makro, Windhoek Cash & Carry and Builders Warehouse in Namibia.

The US giant issued a statement saying it has completed its acquisition of 51 per cent of the shares in Massmart in a N$16,5 billion transaction.Lucius Murorua, chairman of the Namibian Competition Commission (NCC), yesterday confirmed that the latest development also allows Wal-Mart to enter the Namibian market.The NCC and the Minister of Trade and Industry are appealing a judgement by the High Court in which the watchdog required Wal-Mart to meet certain conditions before approving the deal, were set aside.Although the appeal is still on the cards, Murorua expressed the hope that the NCC, the minister and Wal-Mart could come to an ‘amicable and neutral settlement’. He said hopefully the issue could be resolved ‘sooner than later’ so that ‘business can go on’.Murorua said he was disappointed in what has happened so far in the Wal-Mart saga.’The NCC doesn’t want to take centre stage in the matter. What is important, is that business goes on,’ he said.Doug McMillon, president and chief executive officer of Wal-Mart International, said in his statement: ‘With the closing of our investment in Massmart, we are very excited about our entry into South Africa, as well as the broader African continent.’He also pledged that the company will ‘create many jobs and support local suppliers’.When appearing for the retailer in the High Court in Windhoek recently, senior counsel Jeremy Gauntlett said Wal-Mart undertook that no employees would be retrenched as a result of the merger for two years after the deal has gone through.’My client is committed to the future of the country, its people, to employment,’ Gauntlett told the court.The Wal-Mart entry has been met with fierce opposition locally and in South Africa. Trade and Industry Minister Hage Geingob have warned that it might have ‘far reaching consequences in terms of socio-economic relations’.- Additional reporting by Nampa-Sapa-Reuters