CCP clears Fatima Fertilizer’s Agritech share acquisition

Profit reported that the Competition Commission of Pakistan has approved Fatima Fertilizer Company's acquisition of Agritech Limited shares after completing its Phase-I review. The purchases were made on the Pakistan Stock Exchange in two rounds, first in 2023 and then in 2024, and the watchdog assessed them together as one holding.

The watchdog defined urea and Single Super Phosphate as the relevant product markets, with Pakistan as the geographic market. Its review showed that the two firms overlapped in urea, which lifted their combined share there, while Fatima's absence from SSP left Agritech's standing in that segment untouched.

Fatima told the Commission it had sold its entire Agritech stake and no longer aimed to gain control, so it held no Agritech shares when the decision was made. On that basis the regulator concluded the deal would not substantially reduce competition, raise entry barriers, strengthen market power or create a dominant position. Authorisation was granted under the Competition Act 2010, and the CCP noted that merger oversight carries extra weight in fertiliser given its effect on farmers and the wider economy.