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Africa Travel enters Kenyan market with buyout of Pollman’s
Tourists having breakfast aboard a tour van going for game drive at Entumoto Luxury camp, located in Siana conservancy at the periphery of the Maasai Mara game reserve on Saturday July 17, 2021.
Africa Travel Investment Limited trading as Africa Travel is set to enter the Kenyan market through acquisition of Pollman’s Tours and Safaris Limited (Pollman’s).
The market entry has been disclosed in a Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) decision approving the 100 percent acquisition of the issued share capital of Pollman’s.
“This approval has been granted based on the finding that the transaction is unlikely to negatively impact competition in the market for tour operators in Kenya, nor elicit negative public interest concerns,” said the CAK in a statement.
The acquirer is a company incorporated in Europe and did not have any commercial activities in Kenya.
Pollman’s has been specialising in providing guided safaris and sells travel packages to travel agents and tour operators globally.
The CAK said the transaction did not raise any competition concerns given the low market concentration of players in the sector.
According to the regulator, the market for tour operators has low concentration with 322 active players.
Other players listed by the competition watchdog include Bonfire Adventures, Bountiful Safaris, Aanika Karibu Safaris Limited, Acacia Holidays Limited, Cheetah Tours, Dens of Africa and Exotic Travel Centre.
“With regard to the proposed transaction, post-merger, the market share of the merged entity will not change as the target and the acquirer is not in similar business and therefore the structure and concentration of the markets for tour operators in Kenya will not be affected,” said the CAK.
“Therefore, the structure and concentration of the market for tour operators will not be affected, and as such, the transaction does not raise competition concerns.”
The transaction required the seal of the competition watchdog given that the merging parties combined turnover or/and assets surpass Sh1 billion as necessitated by the Competition (General) Rules 2019.
