Privatisation experienced another reversal when Sun Air, previously believed to be a success story both of privatisation and black empowerment, was placed in liquidation. Government has again committed itself to privatisation, saying that Telkom, Eskom, Denel and Transnet will receive priority. The previous record set in 1998 was 108bn. Among the notable hostile deals announced globally in 1999 were the 148bn Vodafone AirTouch bid for Mannesmann AG, drug manufacturer Pfizer's US 88bn bid for Warner-Lambert and Royal Bank of Scotland's US 43bn offer for National Westminster. At the time of going to press clarity had been reached on which regulatory body had jurisdiction over the proposed merger, and it seemed that the next round in what had become a prolonged and increasingly hostile take-over war was likely to be for Nedcor to bypass the Stanbic board and make an offer directly to Stanbic shareholders.
Hostile bids serve as a useful check and balance on underperforming management.
The race to reach consumers in new and more focused ways is leading to a blurring of voice, data and video communications. Already music can be downloaded from the Internet and the ability to conduct banking transactions through DStv is only a stone's throw away. The need to keep ahead of the technological tidal wave and the need to marry distribution capability with the availability of content is compelling companies to merge. Time Warner merger mentioned earlier is a prominent example of this trend. As globalisation continues to take effect and technological advancement renders geographical boundaries meaningless, SA companies will need to make sure that they are not left behind.