Source: supermarket.co.za [1] 

After the competition commission announced in February that Pick ‘n Pay stores should be prevented from acquiring Fruit & Veg City, the acquisition has been terminated altogether. The authorities initially said, "Fruit & Veg City is an increasingly effective competitor to Pick ‘n Pay and other major retailers," and argued that the acquisition was likely to substantially prevent or lessen competition in the fresh food market. Fruit & Veg City and Pick 'n Pay confirmed later in the month that they would not be pursuing their proposed deal following what Fruit & Veg City MD, Brian Coppin, termed "an already unacceptable regulatory delay with the daunting prospect of yet another one". Fruit & Veg City has around 80 stores countrywide after establishing itself in 1993. Fund manager Mark Ansley said that judging by Fruit & Veg City's expansion, it appeared that the niche chain had been stealing market share from rival retailers, but he admitted that it was hard to tell who had lost out, with Pick ‘n Pay putting much effort into its fresh produce offering in recent years. Fruit & Veg City has also diversified its product ranges, by including butchery and bakery departments. Said Coppin of the terminated deal,"We were excited about the opportunities for a small business like ours, in partnership with South Africa's top retailer. But in perspective, we announced our proposed deal eight months ago and small businesses simply can't operate in an environment of uncertainty and administrative burden for this length of time. During these eight months, decision-making has become increasingly difficult and operating normally extremely frustrating. We discussed this extensively with Pick 'n Pay and while they were very keen on taking this further with a full presentation to the Tribunal, we just couldn't accept another delay, which could have well made matters worse." Pick 'n Pay CEO Nick Badminton said that the company was naturally disappointed that the deal was not going to be pursued. "We wanted to take our argument to the Tribunal and felt we had a compelling case. Apart from the fact that we believe there was ample precedent in our industry, we did not believe this was anti-competitive and felt sure that the Tribunal would eventually have approved it when all the facts and arguments were placed at their disposal. Our relationship with the Coppins is an extremely good one and going forward, we will make sure it remains so," he said.