Leana Engelbrecht

Leana Engelbrecht

Partner

Leana is an experienced specialist competition and regulatory lawyer and combines these practice areas to provide clients with comprehensive advice on high-profile, complex and strategic matters across a broad range of industries in South Africa as well as on the African continent. Before joining Alchemy as a partner, Leana was a director in a global law firm. She is regularly ranked and recognised as a leading lawyer by Legal500, Best Lawyers, Who’s Who Legal (WWL) and the Global Competition Review (GCR).

Practice focus

Leana is experienced in all aspects of competition law including mergers, prohibited practices, leniency applications, and abuse of dominance. She has been involved in several high-profile competition matters including in the e-commerce, online platforms, renewable energy, insurance broking, casino and gaming, fast moving consumer goods, airline, food services, construction and private healthcare industries.

She also boasts an impressive track record in advising clients on competition law on the African continent including in Botswana, Namibia, Nigeria, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the Common Market of Southern and Eastern Africa (COMESA). Leana also assists many high-profile clients with advice on competition issues and with the implementation of ongoing competition law programmes.

Major publishable transactions

Competition Law

  • Advising Southern Point Resources and Bushveld Minerals Limited in respect of the competition law matters, including merger control processes, for the highly publicised acquisition by Southern Point Resources from Bushveld Minerals of the Mokopane vanadium mine and the Bushveld Vanchem processing plant.
  • Acted for Bidvest Automotive in respect of the complex merger for the acquisition of the major vehicle testing services provider, Dekra Automotive. This merger required extensive engagement with the Competition Commission, trade unions and various industry stakeholders in respect of claimed complex procurement, information exchange, service degradation and public interest concerns.
  • Advising Stanlib in respect of its first acquisition in the renewable energy sector outside of renewable energy projects operating under REIPPPP, through its investment in Solareff a provider of engineering, procurement (EPC) and operations and management (O&M) solar PV solutions and electrical vehicle infrastructure and charging stations. The Commission raised public interest concerns related to a dilution of ownership by historically disadvantaged persons in the target firm, which was addressed through the imposition of public interest focused condition.
  • Advised Ampath, one of the three large pathology laboratories in South Africa in investigations by the Commission into the price of COVID-19 tests. This investigation was concluded through settlement during December 2022 but was revived through a new complaint brought by the Healthcare Funders Association in March 2023, which it self-referred to the Competition Tribunal in October 2023.
  • Successfully defended a prominent liquid petroleum gas wholesaler in an investigation and subsequent referral against LPG wholesalers in respect of alleged price fixing of the deposit charged for LPG cylinders.
  • Advising energy suppliers in respect of the recently published block exemptions published by the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition to address the South African energy crisis.
  • Advised two leading online platforms in respect of in the South African Competition Commission's recently concluded Online Intermediation Platform Market Inquiry. This market inquiry is arguably one of the most notable developments in South Africa, as competition authorities globally grapple with the regulation of digital markets.

Profile Media