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Primerio

Tyla Lee Coertzen

Associate
South Africa

Tyla is an Associate at Primerio and practices in the firm’s competition and antitrust department. Tyla has handled all aspects of competition law related matters not only in South Africa, but across the continent. Such experience has included cartel conduct, merger control, market inquiries and abuse of dominance cases. Tyla also assists in several commercial matters, general litigation, white collar crime and regulatory work.

Tyla has spent time in Primerio’s Mauritius offices located in Port Louis, where she represented the practice and assisted in Mauritius related matters.

In addition to the above, Tyla is a regular contributor to African Antitrust and African Antifraud, leading resources for competition law and antifraud developments across Africa. Tyla has consistently been published in Concurrence’s e-Competition Bulletin, Competition Policy International, Mondaq, Legal Industry Reviews and the ICC FraudNet Global Annual Report.

Significant Matters:

Tyla formed part of the team which:

  • is currently representing a global automotive parts producer before the South African Competition Tribunal and Competition Appeal Court in relation to allegations of price fixing and market allocation;
  • advising and preparing the merger filing before the South African Competition Commission in respect of an internal restructuring involving a Qatar-based wealth fund and three separate wind farm projects and properties located in South Africa (which merger filing was prepared within a week of obtaining instruction in order to meet deadlines set out by the share purchase agreement);
  • advising and preparation of a merger filing as well as a request for an advisory opinion in respect of a proposed acquisition of a trademark by a multinational FMCG company in eSwatini;
  • advising and representing a multinational FMCG client before the eSwatini Competition Commission in respect of allegations of abuse of dominance and predatory pricing as well as in respect of a market inquiry conducted by the agency;
  • advising a multinational FMCG client in respect of the ongoing Fresh Produce Market Inquiry conducted by the South African Competition Commission as well as preparation of submissions for oral hearings on behalf of the client;
  • advising and preparing merger filings across African countries and regional agencies (including South Africa, COMESA, Nigeria and Morocco) and in relation to the acquisition by an international plastics company of a plastic distributor (Tyla was particularly involved in the preparation of the filing before the COMESA Competition Commission);
  • providing advice to the parent company of a a large multinational in relation to a breach of the COMESA Regulations for failure to notify by its subsidiary as well as advising on resultant risks thereto;
  • representing several multinational clients in relation to leniency applications before the South African Competition Commission;
  • preparing and drafting the merger filing forms required and obtained merger approval before the COMESA Competition Commission in respect of a private equity fund’s acquisition of a global chemicals manufacturer;
  • advising a body representing an association of telecommunications companies in respect of amendments to the South African Electronic Communications Act and potential increased market inquiry powers given to the South African Competition Commission and the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa;
  • obtained a revocation order for an international clothing company in respect of a design erroneously registered with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission;
  • represented a major international parent company in the broader life sciences sector in acquiring a controlling interest in one of the top three pharmaceutical wholesalers in Southern Africa and in doing so ensured the successful conclusion of share purchase agreements with 300 individual shareholders;
  • advising a client in respect of corporate agreements related to a large South African residential and airport development;
  • advising a client in relation to disposals of its shares and restructurings as well as potential breaches of its memorandum of incorporation and shareholders agreements; and
  • currently assisting an FMCG company in an appeal against the appointment of assignees in terms of the Agricultural Products Standards Act.
  • Dean’s List in 2021 for the degree of Bachelor of Law.
  • Mentorship Award from TuksVillage Residence at the University of Pretoria
  • Merit Certificates from the University of the Witwatersrand for the following courses:
  1. Ethics and Law: Theory and Practice
  2. Public International Law
  3. Practical Legal Studies

Tyla is a contributor to African Antitrust, a leading resource for competition law developments across Africa. Recent articles or contributions include:

  • COMESA Snapshot: How have the COMESA Draft Regulations changed its competition regime? [Click here to access]
  • South African Competition Appeal Court releases its decision in respect of the Forex matter: The hindering of international cartel conduct or the inadequate presentation of a case [Click here to access]
  • Digital Platforms & Media: New SA Competition Market Inquiry – South African Competition Commission releases its Statement of Issues in respect of the recently launched Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry [Click here to access]
  • Sweeping Inquiry sheds light on Online Intermediation Platforms: Competition, Opportunity, and the Road Ahead [Click here to access]
  • Prohibiting a merger long in the making: CCC’s First M&A Prohibition [Click here to access]
  • COMESA clarifies merger procedure: COMESA Competition Commission’s Revised Guidance Note provides much-needed clarity to parties in avoiding fines for late merger notifications [Click here to access]
  • Media PAIA request reveals evidence underlying South African Competition Commission dawn raid [Click here to access]
  • ‘Nigeria: The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission Talks to Primerio in Relation to Competition Law Enforcement Trends and Policy’ [Click here to access]

Tyla is a contributor to African Antifraud, a resource that provides African perspectives on FCPA, bribery, fraud and corruption cases. Recent articles or contributions include:

  • ‘Greyed-Out by FATF: South Africa officially placed on the grey-list; where to from here?’ [Click here to access]
  • ‘Greyed-Out by FATF: Consequences and opportunities of potential grey-listing’ [Click here to access]
  • ‘The Glencore Case: Plea deal shows increased global use of Non-Trial Resolutions in cases of corruption and bribery’ [Click here to access]
  • ‘Corruption and Private Prosecutions in South Africa’ [Click here to access]
  • ‘The 2021 OECD Recommendation Influences South African National Prosecuting Authority to Consider Non-Trial Resolutions in Corruption Cases’ [Click here to access]

Tyla co-authored the ‘Nigeria: Dominance Comparative Guide’ as published on Mondaq [Click here to access].

The following articles penned by Tyla have been republished on the Concurrences e-Competition Bulletin:

  • The South African Competition Appeal Court dismisses charges against 23 banks in the alleged collusion and manipulation of the Rand-Dollar exchange rate between 2007 to 2013 (Bank of America / BNP Paribas / JP Morgan Chase / Australia and New Zealand Banking Group…)
  • The South African Competition Authority publishes statement of issues in respect of an ongoing media and digital platforms market inquiry.
  • The COMESA Competition Commission issues a landmark decision to partially prohibit the acquisition of a decorative coatings business by a foreign multinational (Akzonobel/Kansai Plascon).
  • The COMESA Competition Authority publishes a revised guidance note to provide more clarity to merger filing and notification procedures.

The following articles penned by Tyla were republished on Competition Policy International’s Blog:

Tyla has contributed to and assisted with the following editions of Legal Industry Reviews:

  • April 2023 South Africa Edition [Click here to access] with the following insights:
    • South African Competition Tribunal approves the acquisition by Heineken of Distell;
    • South African Competition Commission releases Essential Food Price Monitoring Report;
    • South African Competition Commission announces Media and Digital Platforms Market Inquiry; and
    • Developments in South African Competition Commission investigation into South African insurance firms for collusive conduct.
  • August 2023 South Africa Edition [Click here to access] with the following insights:
    • South African Competition Commission releases the long-awaited Final Report into the Online Intermediation Platforms Market Inquiry;
    • Department of Trade, Industry and Competition releases Regulations on divestiture recommendations by the South African Competition Commission; and
    • South African Competition Commission signs settlement with Unilever South Africa.
  • October 2022 South Africa Edition [Click here to access] with the following insights:
    • South African Digital Markets Competition Law Developments;
    • South African Competition Commission releases Small Merger Guidelines;
    • South African Competition Commission conducts dawn raids on insurance firms;
    • South African Competition Commission releases Online Intermediation Platforms Market Inquiry Summary Report; and
    • South African Competition Commission launches the Fresh Produce Market Inquiry.

Tyla assisted with the research and compilation of the article penned by John Oxenham and Michael-James Currie, titled ‘Taking aim at corruption and bribery’ published in the Mail & Guardian [Click here to access].

Tyla formed part of the team under Michael-James Currie and John Oxenham who, in collaboration with Accountability Now, prepared submissions to the South African Constitutional Review Committee and Justice Portfolio Committee for the introduction of a formal non-trial resolution regime in South Africa [Click here to access].

I contributed to the article titled ‘Freezing Orders in South Africa – Challenges and Opportunities: A Recent Case Study’ published in ICC FraudNet’s Global Annual Report [Click here to access]

Tyla forms part of the research team under John Oxenham, who represents Business at the OECD on behalf of South Africa and the region. I have contributed towards the following submissions:

  • Director Disqualification and Bidder Exclusion;
  • The Future of Effective Leniency;
  • Ex-Post Assessment of Merger Remedies; and
  • Pro-competitive industrial policies (forthcoming).

Tyla presented on the African Antitrust Snapshot Series on the episode on COMESA, discussing the COMESA Competition Commission’s merger control regime, recent developments in respect of merger and non-merger enforcement as well as what to expect from the COMESA Competition Commission, in conjunction with Dr Willard Mwemba (the Executive Director of the COMESA Competition Commission) and Primerio colleagues, Andreas Stargard and Nicola Taljaard [Click here to access]

Recently attended the Centre for Competition, Regulation and Economic Development’s 8th Annual Competition and Economic Regulation (ACER) conference in Mauritius hosted in conjunction with the Mauritian Competition Commission.

  • BCom Law with majors in Economics and Statistics (University of Pretoria) 2019.
  • LLB Cum Laude (University of the Witwatersrand) 2021.
  • Primerio International 2022-Present

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