The Competition and Tariff Commission (CTC) has approved two major acquisitions that are set to reshape Zimbabwe’s food manufacturing and alcoholic beverages markets, but attached conditions aimed at protecting suppliers, customers, workers and fair competition.

The decisions clear Mega Market (Pvt) Ltd’s acquisition of 100 percent of Lobels Holdings (Pvt) Ltd and Baraza Ventures (Pvt) Ltd’s takeover of 100 percent of Crowvest (Pvt) Ltd, which trades as The Stables Winery.

The transactions have significant vertical dimensions, particularly because the acquiring companies have interests further along the respective supply chains.

In the Lobels deal, Mega Market already manufactures and distributes packaged fast-moving consumer goods and wholly owns Mega Market Milling, a wheat and maize milling business producing bread flour, cake flour, self-raising flour, biscuit flour and maize meal.

The acquisition therefore brings a major bakery business under a group that is also involved in supplying some of the raw materials used by bakeries.

The CTC’s approval is consequently important for Lobels’ existing customers and suppliers, particularly independent businesses that could otherwise face changes in access, pricing or supply terms following the acquisition.

The CTC’s merger decisions require the parties to maintain fair trading arrangements, including safeguards covering local flour suppliers, bakery customers and employees.

The CTC has previously said public-interest considerations such as employment remain central to its merger assessments. In its review of merger activity, the regulator said: “Public interest considerations, such as employment, remained central to merger evaluations.”

The Lobels transaction had earlier been subjected to a formal CTC investigation over its potential impact on competition in Zimbabwe’s food manufacturing and fast-moving consumer goods markets.

The second approved transaction involves Baraza Ventures and Crowvest. Baraza is an investment company whose principal interest before the transaction was its ownership of Village Liquors, which operates retail outlets under the Liquor Supplies and Star Liquors brands.

Crowvest, meanwhile, operates The Stables Winery, selling imported wines to corporate and retail customers.

The CTC identified two relevant markets: wine importation and wholesale distribution, and retailing of alcoholic beverages. It classified the transaction as having both horizontal and vertical dimensions.

The regulator’s conditions are particularly focused on preventing the enlarged business from using its ownership of retail outlets to disadvantage rival retailers.

The Commission ordered that Crowvest and Baraza, together with their subsidiaries and successors, continue supplying customers covered by Crowvest’s exclusive distribution agreements on:

“fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.”

The CTC further directed that the merged entity must not discriminate between Baraza-owned outlets and other retailers in areas including:

“pricing, discounts, rebates, promotional support, product allocations, delivery schedules, credit terms, product availability or any other material trading conditions.”

Exceptions are allowed where differences are objectively justified by legitimate commercial considerations such as order volumes, payment terms or transport costs.

The approvals underline the growing use of mergers and acquisitions by Zimbabwean companies to expand across interconnected parts of the economy.

Mega Market’s move into Lobels gives the Mutare-based FMCG group a larger manufacturing footprint, while Baraza’s acquisition of Crowvest combines wine importation and distribution with an existing alcohol retail network.

The CTC handled 30 merger cases in 2025 and made 26 decisions, with 23 approved without conditions and three approved subject to regulatory safeguards. The Commission said conditional approvals were used where potential competition or public-interest risks required mitigation.