EAC COMPETITION AUTHORITY MERGER INQUIRY NOTICE NO. 15 OF 2026. THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION BETWEEN MMPG LIMITED AND VIVO ENERGY ROUGE HOLDINGS
It is hereby notified in terms of Regulation 8 of the EAC Competition (Mergers and Acquisitions) Regulations, 2025 (the Regulations) that the EAC Competition Authority (the Authority) after receiving a notification in terms of Section 11 of the East African Community Competition Act, 2006 (the Act) involving MMPG Limited (MMPG) and Vivo Energy Rouge Holdings (Vivo) intends to embark on an inquiry in terms of Part IV of the Act and Part III of the Regulations.
The Proposed Transaction concerns the acquisition by MMPG Limited (the Acquirer) of Vivo Energy Rouge Holdings (the Target) and its subsidiaries from Vivo Energy Overseas Holdings Limited (the Seller). The Proposed Transaction is to combine the Target Group’s established operations with the Acquirer Group’s regional petroleum, import, logistics and distribution capabilities. Accordingly, upon implementation of the Proposed Transaction, the Acquirer will acquire sole control of the Target and, indirectly, Vivo Rwanda.
The Parties submitted that the Acquirer is a private company registered in Mauritius and forms part of the Mount Meru group (Acquirer Group) which is active in a number of EAC Partner States. These activities include the [downstream] distribution of petroleum products, transport and logistics services, convenience retail activities, gas-related activities and certain non-petroleum activities, including the manufacture and refining of edible oils, soap, fats and household plastic products, the production of oil cakes, and the import and sale of raw materials for animal feed. Within the EAC, the Acquirer Group has activities in six (6) Partner States, namely Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania.
Further, the Parties submitted that the target is a newly incorporated Mauritian holding company which holds the entire issued share capital of Vivo Energy Rwanda Limited (Vivo Rwanda) where the operations include Engen-branded service stations. The Target Group operates an integrated energy business concentrated in the petroleum sector, including the sourcing, storage, distribution and sale of petroleum and petroleum-based products, together with related minor retail convenience services.
The Authority shall, in accordance with the provisions of the Act and Regulations, determine, among other things, whether or not the merger is likely to substantially lessen competition within the Community or is contrary to the public interest. In view of this, the Authority hereby gives notice to all interested stakeholders, including competitors, suppliers and customers of the merging parties to submit written representations to the Authority with regard to the subject matter of the proposed inquiry by emailing them to: eacca@eachq.org and vokoth@eachq.org. All written representations should be sent to the Authority not later than 7th October, 2026.
If you wish to seek further details and/ or clarifications on any aspect of this proposed transaction or need assistance, you may get in touch with the Deputy Registrar, Mergers and Acquisitions, Mr. Vincent Okoth on +255 27 216 2100 or via email at vokoth@eachq.org
All written representations submitted to the Authority will be treated with the strictest confidentiality and will only be used for the purpose of this inquiry.
