British American Tobacco’s (BAT) proposed takeover of e-cigarette manufacturer Twisp has won approval from South Africa’s Competition Tribunal, Reuters reported.

The local unit of BAT announced the deal in 2017 in order to increase its offering of next generation products (NGPs). The deal, however, faced opposition from the Competition Commission as well as local rivals, according to the report. The commission has changed its recommendation to a conditional approval, including not be allowed to agree with retailers to allocate their products more than 70 per cent of visible sales space to e-cigarettes, the report said. The conditions of the contract would apply for five years and the company would not be allowed to cut jobs for a two-year period.
According to the report, BAT South Africa (BATSA) and Twisp welcomed the decision.
“BATSA has been impressed by Twisp’s unique product offering, and plans to expand this for customers, while growing Twisp’s leadership position,” said BATSA Chief Executive Soraya Benchikh.