Overview
- The Competition Commission of Pakistan approved United Ethanol Industries’ acquisition of shares in Pakistan Corporate Restructuring Company Limited following a Phase-I review.
- The buyer is acquiring ordinary shares from eight banks: United Bank, MCB Bank, Allied Bank, Meezan Bank, Habib Metropolitan Bank, Habib Bank, Bank AL Habib and Bank Alfalah.
- The regulator classified the deal as a conglomerate merger with no overlap between the ethanol producer and the restructuring firm and found no risk to competition or new entry barriers.
- PCRCL is licensed by the securities regulator to acquire and resolve non-performing assets, yet the commission noted the NPA market is nascent and said PCRCL completed few significant deals in the past five years.
- The order was issued under Section 31 of the Competition Act, and officials said timely merger reviews aim to draw investment into restructuring capacity that could help banks recover bad loans and keep viable firms operating.