Biography • Competition

Vani Chetty obtained her LLM degree at Georgetown University, Washington, DC, and her LLB and BA degrees at the University of Durban Westville, South Africa. Uniquely combining South African competition expertise with global perspective and experience, Vani maintains active domestic and international profiles.

Vani was admitted in 1994 as an attorney in the High Court of South Africa. She accepted a position at Edward Nathan (now Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs) in 1998 and became a partner two years later. She left the partnership in 2007 to establish South Africa's first boutique competition law practice.

Vani has personally acted on behalf of numerous local and international clients in high profile mergers and acquisitions and restrictive business practices. Her diverse client portfolio includes financial services, property, construction, steel, insurance, entertainment, petroleum and consumer goods.

Vani has extensive experience in advising local and foreign firms in all cartel-related issues. She represented Group Five Construction, the lead leniency applicant, in the high profile investigation by the South African competition authorities into the construction sector. She has further advised players in the petroleum, milling, tyre, steel, bitumen and fertiliser industries on cartel conduct. Vani has acted on behalf of a foreign corporation in an investigation regarding cartel activities in the South African airfreight market, and she represented the Southern African Bitumen Association in respect of price-fixing allegations.

Old Mutual, First Rand Banking Group, ArcelorMittal South Africa and Liberty Holdings are among the firms Vani has represented before South Africa's competition authorities. She has advised British American Tobacco in an abuse of dominance complaint and Primedia in a contested radio station acquisition.

Vani has also advised on the South African portion various international mergers including: E I Dupont de Nemours & Co's merger with Danisco, Clariant AG's acquisition of Süd-Chemie and its subsequent joint venture with Wilmar International. Vani is recognised as a leading expert on competition issues in the property sector. Vani acted for Redefine Properties in its 12.7 billion rand acquisition of ApexHi Properties and Madison Property Fund Managers - South Africa's largest property transaction of 2009, and currently represents Redefine in its proposed acquisition of Fountainhead. She has further represented most listed property players before the competition authorities including Standard Bank Properties, Growthpoint Properties, Hyprop, Acucap and Sycom.

In the global arena, Vani co-chairs the sub-group on competition policy implementation for the International Chamber of Commerce Commission to the International Competition Network (ICN). She is among the leading lawyers listed in The International Who's Who of Competition Lawyers & Economists, Global Competition Review's "Top 100 Women in Antitrust" and PLC's Cross-Border Handbook. A popular speaker, Vani has presented at the American Bar Association (ABA) spring meetings and at annual meetings of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), as well as at pre-eminent local forums.

Vani has advised foreign policymakers on South Africa's competition law regime, and has conducted competition law training for developing countries in the SADC region. Her considerable expertise, broad experience, professionalism and personal attention to her clients' interests and concerns make Vani Chetty an authoritative and accessible ally in all matters pertaining to South African and international competition and antitrust law.