Due to its similarity with the audit, tax, and consulting firm KPMG Nigeria, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has ordered the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to remove the business name “KPMG Professional Services” from its register.
Additionally, Justice Abdullahi Mahmud Bayero, who read the panel’s unanimous decision, authorized KPMG Professional Services to cease operating under that name in the future.
According to Section 662 (1)(d) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 1990, which is now Section 852 of CAMA 2020, the appellate court determined that the second respondent’s name registration was improper and misleading.
KPMG Nigeria, which includes its audit, tax, and consulting divisions, challenged the CAC’s registration of a new company called “KPMG Professional Services” in a 2003 originating summons, alleging that it resembled its long-established name in some ways.
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The Federal High Court, however, rejected KPMG Nigeria’s lawsuit in its 2005 decision, arguing that the plaintiff could no longer assert rights under the name because of an alleged merger between KPMG Nigeria and Akintola Williams Deloitte.
The lower court also upheld the second Respondent’s counterclaim and ruled that KPMG Nigeria’s name should be removed from the CAC register.
The Court of Appeal, however, rejected this ruling, citing “inadequate and unsubstantiated” evidence of a merger.
The lower court’s newspaper articles did not adequately demonstrate that KPMG Nigeria had ceased to exist or had lost its rights, according to the appellate court.
The nature and scope of the purported merger can only be determined by a merger agreement, according to Justice Bayero. What is most likely a functional collaboration or partial merger of KPMG Audit, and even that cannot be demonstrated by binding legal documents.
KPMG Audit (1969), KPMG Tax Consultants (1990), and KPMG Consulting were the first business entities to register with the court, according to the ruling.
Further, it was determined that the CAC had violated the CAMA by allowing registration of a similar name without first removing the previously registered names.
Source: Channels TV
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