The Apex Court declined Caxton’s appeal, but the Competition Appeal Court will still rule on the substance of its objections.
The Constitutional Court has declined to hear an appeal by Caxton and CTP Publishers, owner of The Citizen, in its attempt to block Media24 from selling its print distribution arm, On the Dot, to Novus Holdings.
The ruling means Caxton has no further recourse in seeking interim relief to halt the transaction. However, the Competition Appeal Court has yet to deliver its judgment on the substantive merits of Caxton’s case. Until then, the dispute over the sale remains unresolved.
The dispute dates back to mid-2024, when Media24 (owned by Naspers), facing steep circulation and advertising revenue declines, announced sweeping restructuring measures. These included closing flagship print titles such as Beeld, Rapport, City Press, and Daily Sun, shifting others to digital-only platforms, and disposing of On the Dot along with its community newspaper portfolio. The Competition Commission approved the transaction in October 2024, raising no major competition concerns, and Novus subsequently completed the R43 million acquisition.
Caxton, supported by Capital Newspapers, argued that the deal undermined competition and eroded media diversity, particularly in smaller towns and rural communities where On the Dot had long been central to distribution. The courts, however, consistently found that Caxton lacked the legal standing to challenge the deal. By rejecting the application for leave to appeal, the Constitutional Court has cleared the way for Media24 to press ahead with its digital-first strategy, underlining the profound reshaping of South Africa’s media landscape.
In response to the Apex Court decision, Paul Jenkins, chair of Caxton, says:
“This does not dispose of the merits of the matter, and the Constitutional Court has indicated expressly that the Competition Appeal Court still needs to determine the merits of the review, which case has already been argued before it. Once the Competition Appeal Court has rendered its decision, Caxton will decide on appropriate next steps in the circumstances.”
Caxton contends that the closure of Media24’s titles as part of a merger transaction represents a loss for the fourth estate. Caxton says it has acted in the best interests of the print media industry, and remains steadfast in its conviction that the transaction between Media24 and Novus is highly problematic from a competition and public interest perspective.
“It is extremely unfortunate that Media24 chose to abandon the print industry at this critical time, by the closure of its print publications pursuant to its transaction with Novus, with devastating effect on our industry. The irony is that Naspers’s success has largely been built on the back of the very print titles forming part of an industry which Naspers believes has now become obsolete,”
notes Jenkins.
Source: Moneyweb
