The sale of Burger King to a pan-African private equity firm has been blocked by the regulator because it cannot be justified on public interest grounds. There are no competition issues.
It objected to the lack of historically disadvantaged persons among the new owners.
The struggling Grand Parade Investments wanted to sell Burger King to an international private equity fund for R593 million.
The Competition Commission has prohibited a proposed takeover of Burger King in South Africa by an international private equity fund.
Last year, the struggling Grand Parade Investments announced that it would sell Burger King South Africa and Grand Foods Meat Plant, which primarily supplies Burger King with patties, to a fund owned by Emerging Capital Partners (ECP). ECP, which was founded in the US, is a private equity firm that focuses on African investments.