Johannesburg — MEDIA company Caxton appears hellbent on delaying Naspers' buyout of M-Net and SuperSport, according to industry commentators.

Caxton yesterday submitted its application to the Competition Appeals Court in Cape Town, asking for a review of the July ruling by the Competition Tribunal - which allowed Caxton to intervene in Naspers' acquisition of 38% of M-Net and SuperSport only under certain conditions.

Lesley Morphet of Deneys Reitz Attorneys, who represented Caxton, said it was in no way a case of stalling the procedure, but rather "seeking clarity" as to a legal technicality.

"It's really a question of whether the tribunal should limit the scope (of the interventions) at this stage, or whether it should occur during the hearings," she said. The hearing would take place next month.

The tribunal limited Caxton to two areas, namely foreclosure, or Naspers' ability to stop competing print media from advertising on M-Net, and the bundling of its print and broadcast packages to the detriment of competitors in the print industry.

In addition, the tribunal said Caxton could intervene on the grounds that Naspers could use full-line forcing, which is understood to mean that an advertiser would be forced to buy a whole array of products just to obtain one or two.

Caxton's earlier application to intervene included a wider range of topics such as foreign ownership and the consequences for the diversity of views in the media as a result of Naspers' control over M-Net and SuperSport and print media.

Some believe that Caxton is resorting to a "sour grapes" tactic and that the move is just the latest in its pursuit of acquiring a stake in the lucrative M-Net and SuperSport shares.

While Rajay Ambekar of Cadiz African Harvest would not comment as to whether this was the case, he said it was unlikely that the deal would be affected, but it could be temporarily delayed.

"This would have an impact for the Johncom black economic empowerment deal as well as their intention ... to split themselves from Caxton," he said.