CCP Approves 69 M&A Deals, Attracts $50 Million in FDI During FY25

The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) reported the approval of 69 merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions in fiscal year 2024-25. According to a statement released on Tuesday by the CCP, these transactions facilitated approximately $50 million in foreign direct investment (FDI).

The approved deals spanned a variety of sectors, including food, finance, logistics, aerospace, media, and e-commerce.

“Notable FDI transactions featured a joint venture between NLC and DP World Logistics FZE, supported by SIFC, alongside Bazaar Technologies’ purchase of Wemsol within the e-commerce domain.

In the agribusiness sector, Euricom S.P.A. from Italy acquired a 50% share of Fatima Euricom Rice Mills. The media sector witnessed Berkeley Square Holding BV securing 50% stakes in Ogilvy & Mather, Mindshare, and Soho Square Pakistan. Furthermore, Wakeb Data Company, a Saudi firm, obtained an 80% stake in Woot Tech, a drone technology company,” the statement elaborated.

In addition to the international investment transactions, the CCP sanctioned 64 domestic M&A deals across sectors such as retail, services, logistics, energy, food, and manufacturing.

Breaking it down by sector, 25 transactions were in industrial and manufacturing, 14 in energy and power, 13 in services, 11 in financial services, five in consumer goods and retail, and one in real estate.

Significant domestic transactions included Asyad Holding’s acquisition of 77.42% of Shell Pakistan shares through Wafi Energy, based in the UAE, marking a pivotal move in the energy sector. Alfalah Asset Management assumed fund management rights from Faysal Asset Management, while Sapphire Fibres and Mindbridge jointly acquired Uch Power and Uch-II Power, according to the CCP.

“Other significant domestic transactions included PPR Holding A.S. acquiring complete ownership of SadaPay Technologies, Nimir Industrial Chemicals acquiring the assets of Procter & Gamble Pakistan, Naubahar Bottling Company acquiring the bottling assets of JK Sugar Mills, and the merging of DWP Engineering Industries with Digital World Pakistan.”

During FY2024-25, the CCP also granted 38 conditional and time-bound exemptions as per the Competition Act of 2010.

“These exemptions spanned multiple sectors, including automotive, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, food and beverages, energy, logistics, telecommunications, banking and finance, tobacco, aviation, and packaging,” the commission noted.