S.African court to rule on Wal-Mart bid: report

CAPE TOWN (AFP) - Wal-Mart will learn at the end of next week if its bid to gain a foothold in Africa by buying 51 percent of South African retailer Massmart has been rejected on appeal, a report said on Wednesday.

The 16.5-billion-rand ($2.2-billion, 1.6-billion-euro) merger got the green light from anti-trust regulators last May, but three government ministries appealed, arguing the companies should be ordered to show how local business would be affected and how they would mitigate the impact.

The Competition Appeal Court in Cape Town will hand down its ruling on Friday next week, the Sapa news agency reported, saying Judge Dennis Davis could either throw out the appeal, impose new conditions on the merger or send it back to the competition tribunal for new hearings.

South Africa's powerful trade unions have sharply criticised the deal, saying Wal-Mart's entry would hurt local manufacturers by increasing imports.

Massmart runs nine wholesale and retail chains with 288 stores in 14 African countries.