South Africa: Competition Commission approved the acquisition of Britehouse Automotive by Trapeze Software

On 13 February 2025, the South African Competition Commission approved, with conditions, the acquisition of Britehouse Automotive by Trapeze Software ULC, a Canadian software firm under Constellation Software Inc. The acquisition relates to the automotive software industry, particularly providers of dealership management software (DMS) and related solutions. The Commission found that the merger would not substantially lessen competition. However, it imposed public interest conditions requiring the establishment of an employee share ownership programme or the inclusion of historically disadvantaged persons in Britehouse Automotive’s ownership structure.