CCP approves Fatima Fertilizer-Agritech transaction

Mettis Global reported that the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has cleared Fatima Fertilizer's purchase of shares in Agritech Limited, finding no competition concerns in the country's fertilizer market. The purchases were made on the stock exchange in two separate steps, in 2023 and 2024, and the regulator assessed the combined shareholding during its Phase-I review.

Both companies are listed and operate in overlapping parts of the industry: Fatima Fertilizer produces, sells, imports and exports fertilizers and chemicals, while Agritech makes urea and granulated Single Super Phosphate (SSP). The CCP treated urea and SSP as the relevant product markets, with Pakistan as the geographic market. The review found an overlap in urea, where the combined share rose, but Fatima had no SSP presence, so Agritech's position there stayed the same.

Before the determination, Fatima informed the CCP that it had sold its entire Agritech stake and no longer planned to control the company, so it held no shares at the time. The Commission concluded the deal would not substantially lessen competition, and found no new entry barriers, no strengthened market power and no dominant position. The CCP authorised the transaction under Section 31(1)(d)(i) of the Competition Act, 2010, and Mettis Global said this ruling belongs to the regulator's merger-control work in sectors such as fertilizers.