Pollman’s Tours and Safaris, a pioneer in Kenya’s safari industry, has been fully acquired by Alterra Capital, a private equity firm backed by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote and American billionaire Dave Rubenstein.

The firm made the move through Africa Travel Investment Limited, a company incorporated in Europe and operating under the trade name Africa Travel.

The acquisition, finalised in February, involves 100 per cent of the issued share capital of Pollman’s.

The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK), in a recently published decision, confirmed that the takeover would not interfere with competition or disrupt the market balance within the tour operations industry.

“This approval has been granted based on the finding that the transaction is unlikely to negatively impact competition in the market for tour operators in Kenya, nor elicit negative public interest concerns,” said the CAK in its official statement.

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According to the regulator, Alterra Capital and Pollman’s operate in distinct segments of the tourism value chain.

As a result, their union does not shift the current market share dynamics among Kenya’s 322 registered tour operators, which include Bonfire Adventures, Bountiful Safaris, among others.

“With regard to the proposed transaction, post-merger, the market share of the merged entity will not change as the target and the acquirer are not in similar business and therefore the structure and concentration of the markets for tour operators in Kenya will not be affected,” said the CAK.

Pollman’s, which has long provided guided safaris and sells travel packages to global agents, will now serve as the entry point for Africa Travel into Kenya’s tourism space.

The acquirer previously had no commercial presence in the country.

The CAK further stated that the acquisition met the threshold for regulatory review under the Competition (General) Rules 2019, as the combined turnover or asset value of the parties exceeded Sh1 billion.

Importantly, the competition authority also ruled out potential threats to employment and the survival of smaller businesses.

“Therefore, the structure and concentration of the market for tour operators will not be affected, and as such, the transaction does not raise competition concerns,” the CAK noted.

The acquiring parties added that the transaction would not lead to any loss of jobs.