Competition

Bowmans

At Bowmans, the practice’s ‘ability to provide a one-stop-shop for all things competition-related in Africa is invaluable when it comes to navigating complex multi-jurisdictional matters’. Derek Lötter is ‘extremely knowledgeable in competition law’, and jointly heads the department with Tamara Dini, who possesses ‘a supreme grasp of the technical nature of competition law’. The team is highly regarded for advising a client base of blue-chip companies on a broad spectrum of complex competition matters, with noted capabilities in handling abuse of dominance allegations, prohibited practices investigations, and merger control mandates. Heather Irvine regularly acts on cross-border mergers, and Rudolph Labuschagne has solid expertise in advising on competition litigation and cartel and abuse of dominance investigations. Other key practitioners include Xolani Nyali, Sivuyise Lutshiti, and Kayla Abrahams. Disebo Leokaoke joined the practice in late 2022.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

‘Heather Irvine is our trusted SA antitrust counsel. She leads a very strong team. A true leader, smart, organised, technically strong, commercial, patient.'
‘Heather Irvine is outstanding.'
‘They are willing to listen and make sure they fully understand, which culminates in the assistance being 100% spot on.'
'The competition lawyers at Bowmans (and especially Xolani Nyali) are very competent and extremely responsive. They provide pragmatic and timely advice.'
‘Derek is always willing to assist and his insights and advice is very helpful.'
'Xolani Nyali is a fantastic lawyer - very competent, pragmatic and accommodating.'
‘Tamara Dini is extremely thorough and attentive, with a supreme grasp of the technical nature of competition law. She really works to get under the skin of the business she is advising in relation to.’
'Tamara Dini and Xolani Nyali are both fantastic; they are responsive, experts in their fields and extremely user friendly. The advice they provide is always commercial, takes into account the broader strategy and commercial imperatives, and of a high quality no matter how tight the timelines are.'

Key clients

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA NV
The South African Breweries
Amazon
Sasol
Meta Platforms, Inc
NCR Corporation
Royal Bafokeng Platinum Limited
Ardagh Glass Packaging
Apple Inc.
Coca-Cola Beverages Africa
Vitol (and its subsidiary, Vita Gas (Pty) Ltd)
Engen Petroleum
Beam Suntory
Emirates Airlines
Total Energies
Macquarie Bank
BNP Paribas
Old Mutual Limited
Abbott Laboratories
Booking.com
Mediterranean Shipping Company
Nestlé
Pfizer
beIN Media Group
Eskom Holdings SOC Limited
Petredec South Africa
MTN Group and MTN SA
Royal Bafokeng Platinum
British Airways
Pick n Pay
African Oxygen
The Continental Group

Work highlights

Representing Facebook Inc, Facebook South Africa (Facebook) and WhatsApp Inc (WhatsApp) (as part of the Meta Group) before the Competition Tribunal in relation to allegations of abuse of dominance brought by the Competition Commission.
Advising a number of prominent international firms on the ongoing Online Intermediation and Platforms and Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiries.
Acting for Sasol Limited in relation to the South African Competition Commission’s investigation into excessive pricing of piped gas, following a complaint lodged by the Industrial Gas Users Association (IGUA).