The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has cleared IGI Investments (Private) Limited’s acquisition of a stake in Akzo Nobel Pakistan Limited from ICI Omicron B.V., following a Phase-I review of the transaction.

IGI Investments, a wholly owned subsidiary of IGI Holdings Limited, operates as the strategic investment arm of the IGI Group and manages investments in equity and debt securities.

Akzo Nobel Pakistan is involved in manufacturing and selling coatings in Pakistan. For its competition assessment, the CCP identified decorative coatings and industrial coatings as the relevant product markets, with Pakistan as the geographic market.

The Commission found no horizontal overlap or vertical relationship between the parties in the relevant markets. It therefore concluded that the acquisition would not increase market concentration or the parties’ market shares.

The CCP also noted that the relevant markets are fragmented and that the transaction is unlikely to create significant barriers to entry, strengthen the market power of the parties, exclude competitors or substantially reduce competition.

Based on its assessment, the Commission determined that the transaction would not create or strengthen a dominant position and approved the acquisition under Section 31 of the Competition Act, 2010.

However, the CCP noted that certain ancillary restrictions contained in the transaction agreement may require a separate exemption under Section 5 of the Competition Act, read with the Competition Commission (Exemption) Regulations, 2020.

The Commission said its merger review process is aimed at facilitating investment and business activity while ensuring competitive markets and protecting consumer welfare.