INTRODUCTION
As of 1 November 2025, the East African Community Competition Authority (EACCA) has officially assumed jurisdiction to receive merger notifications. The East African Community Competition Authority is empowered to receive, review, approve or remedy cross-border mergers that have an anti-competitive effect in the East African Community (EAC). The mandate covers such transactions in any of the 8 EAC Partner States namely: Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania. This development marks significant progress for businesses engaged in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) across the EAC, as it strengthens regional economic integration, enhances regulatory certainty, and facilitates smoother intra-community business operations.
ESTABLISHMENT OF EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY COMPETITION AUTHORITY (EACCA)
The establishment of the EACCA stems from the Protocol on the Establishment of the East African Community Customs Union, which, under Article 21(1), requires EAC Partner States to prohibit practices that adversely affect trade and competition within the Community. Similarly, Article 33(1) of the EAC Common Market Protocol obliges Partner States to prohibit practices that hinder free and fair trade. Taken together, these obligations underscore the need for a harmonized competition policy to prevent market abuse, anti-competitive conduct and trade distortions that may arise from the growing regional market economy.
To operationalize these principles and ensure consistent enforcement across the region, the East African Community Competition Act, 2006, was enacted to promote and protect fair competition in the Community. The Act applies to all economic activities and sectors with cross-border effects and grants the Authority extra-territorial jurisdiction across the EAC Common Market. Moreover, the Act emphasizes cooperation between the Authority and national regulators, ensuring coordinated enforcement and shared objectives.
One of the key advantages of this regional competition regime is its creation of a “one-stop shop” for cross-border transactions, which eliminates the need for multiple filings in different Partner States and significantly reduces the cost of doing business across the region.
WHAT IS A MERGER WITH A CROSS-BORDER DIMENSION?
The East African Community Competition (Mergers and Acquisitions) Regulations of 2025, set out the criteria for assessing mergers that affect more than one Partner State. Under Regulation 4, a merger has a cross-border dimension if at least one party operates in two or more EAC Partner States and meets the prescribed notification thresholds. Previously, such transactions were only notified separately in each relevant country. With the operationalization of the EACCA, cross-border mergers now fall under a single regional review system, promoting greater transparency, fairness and consistency in merger control across the EAC.
EACCA NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE FOR MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Under the amended East African Community Competition Act, 2006 and the East African Community Competition (Mergers and Acquisitions) Regulations of 2025 (hereinafter “the 2025 Regulations”), any merger or acquisition that meets the prescribed thresholds must be notified to and approved by the EACCA before it takes effect. Failure to do so renders the transaction void.
The following are the key procedures to be followed:
- Conclude an agreement in respect of the Merger or Acquisition.
- Notify the EACCA of the M&A through Form 1 specified in the schedule to the East African Community Competition (Mergers and Acquisitions) Regulations of 2025. The Form shall be submitted electronically or in hard copy to the Authority.
- Accompany the notification with prescribed fees, a copy of the agreement relating to the merger or acquisition and any other documents relevant to the merger or acquisition.
- File a confidentiality claim: Parties to an intended merger or acquisition who wish to claim confidentiality in respect of specified matters may, at the time of submitting a notification, claim confidentiality using Form 2specified in the Schedule under Regulation 5(1) of the 2025 Regulations.
- Submit the merger or acquisition to the Authority through the correct address.
- Verification of Notification: The Authority shall acknowledge the receipt of the notification within three days.
- Where documents are complete, the Authority shall issue to the undertaking a Notice of Complete Filing specified in Form 3 of the Schedule, not later than ten days after the acknowledgement of receipt of the notification.
- Where documents are incomplete, the Authority shall, using Form 4 in the Schedule to the Regulations, require the undertaking making the notification to provide the information or documents necessary to complete the notification.
- Preliminary Analysis: The Authority shall within fourteen days after issuing a Notice of Complete Filling, analyse the notification in order to establish whether the intended merger or acquisition meets the requirements of the Act
- Publication of notification of intended merger or acquisition: Within fourteen days of issuing a Notice of Complete Filing, the Authority shall publish a notice of the intended merger or acquisition on the EAC and Authority websites.
Once a cross-border merger or acquisition is notified to the EACCA, no additional filing with national competition authorities is required as the regional notification fulfills compliance obligations. Any pending cross-border merger proceedings initiated before national authorities will continue under them until conclusion.
NOTIFICATION THRESHOLDS FOR MERGERS & ACQUISITION UNDER EACCA
A cross-border merger or acquisition is notifiable to the EACCA if:
(a) The combined turnover or assets of the merging parties within the Community, whichever is higher, equals to or exceeds United States Dollars thirty-five million (USD 35 million); and
(b) At least two undertakings to the merger or acquisition have a combined turnover or assets of United States Dollars twenty million (USD 20 million) in the Community, unless each of the parties to a merger achieves at least two-thirds of its aggregate turnover or assets in the Community is within one and the same Partner State.
These thresholds are set out in the Schedule to the East African Community Competition (Merger and Acquisition Notification Fees) Regulations, 2024, which outlines the applicable notification fees payable to the Authority for mergers meeting these criteria.
NOTIFICATION FEES
The notification fees payable to the East African Community Competition Authority are determined based on the aggregate value of the assets or turnover, whichever is higher, resulting from the transaction. For transactions with an aggregate value between USD 35 million and USD 50 million, the notification fee is USD 45,000. For those valued above USD 50 million up to USD 100 million, the applicable fee is USD 70,000. Transactions with an aggregate value exceeding USD 100 million attract a notification fee of USD 100,000.
IMPLICATIONS
- No merger with the EAC cross-border effect is to be implemented without the approval of the EACCA. Section 11 of the EAC Competition Act, 2006, provides that a merger for which notification is required shall not come into effect before its notification to the Authority and without the Authority’s approval.
- Once a merger/acquisition with a cross-border effect is notified to the EACCA, there is no need to notify the same to the national competition authorities.
- Current or pending transactions before other authorities for mergers and acquisition approval that had commenced or are pending before a national competition authority or any other relevant authority within a Partner State before July 2025 shall be finalized by the respective authorities.
- Any such transaction if carried out without notifying the EACCA shall be void.
REGIONAL COMPETITION AUTHORITIES
The operationalization of the EACCA aligns the East African Community with other regional blocs that have established supranational competition authorities. Notable examples include the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition within the European Union and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Competition Commission. These regional frameworks have proven instrumental in harmonizing competition policy by ensuring fair markets and facilitating cross-border investment which is an objective now mirrored within the EAC.
CONCLUSION
The operationalization of the East African Community Competition Authority marks a historic milestone in advancing regional integration, fair competition and investment facilitation within East Africa. For businesses, this change means greater regulatory clarity, a single notification process and improved predictability in merger control. For guidance on mergers and acquisitions, reach out to our team for seamless transactions and informed legal support.
