Pollster Ipsos sues competition authority and DPP over merger

Ipsos lead researcher Tom Wolf addressing journalists in the past. PHOTO | FILE 

By MAUREEN KAKAH

In Summary

• Ipsos Limited claims that there is a threat to arrest its officers, directors or employees for an act committed by CAK as of October 12, 2011 when Ipsos SA completed acquisition from Aegis Group plc, a London-listed company of Synovate Holdings.
• It claims there were no regulations in force at the time to regulate presentation of any notification for a commercial transaction, including sale and purchase of shares.

Pollster Ipsos Limited has moved to court seeking to stop imminent arrest and prosecution of its officers over the merger of its two companies four years ago.

Ipsos has sued the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK), the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Director of Criminal Investigations.

The pollster claims that there is a threat to arrest its officers, directors or employees for an act committed by CAK as of October 12, 2011 when  Ipsos SA, a French-listed public company, completed acquisition from Aegis Group plc, a London-listed company of Synovate Holdings.

According to Ipsos director Rupert van Hullen, laws governing acquisition of any commercial entity in Kenya at the acquisition date were not in place and that the Competition Act took effect on August 1, 2011.

The body claims there were no regulations in force at the time to regulate presentation of any notification for a commercial transaction, including sale and purchase of shares.

Despite being aware of the merger and acknowledging receipt of the completed applications on December 9, 2011, CAK published its annual report without officially listing the acquisition, Ipsos claims.

READ: Synovate directors risk jail, hefty fines

The report indicated that they are liable to a financial penalty.

“It is an indisputable fact that regulations had not been formally and legally constituted as of the acquisition date, this is a serious matter of great public interest regarding our rights and the failure of CAK’s administrative duties,” said Mr Hullen.

Ipsos alleges that on July 2011, Ipsos Synovate had agreed to sell all Aegis Group’s market research business conducted in the name Synovate to Ipsos SA.

They want an order directing that CAK received their merger application since they acknowledged receipt and that their officers, directors or employees be stopped from being prosecuted. The case will be mentioned on January 27 next year.