KARACHI: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has approved the acquisition of a majority stake in Ranipur Sugar Mills (Private) Limited by Saakh Pharma Limited and United Ethanol Industries Limited under a Phase-I review.
Ranipur Sugar Mills is engaged in sugar manufacturing along with related by-products and in-house power generation. Saakh Pharma operates in the pharmaceutical and biological products segment, while United Ethanol Industries is active in ethanol and industrial products within the broader agribusiness sector.
The CCP noted during proceedings that the transaction had been completed prior to obtaining regulatory approval, reiterating that pre-merger clearance is a mandatory statutory requirement for notifiable transactions. The applicants have since submitted an undertaking to ensure compliance in future.
The CCP classified the deal as a conglomerate merger, with no significant horizontal overlap between the parties’ businesses and only limited vertical linkages.It observed that the target company has a limited market presence and found no evidence of supply dependency or competition concerns arising from the transaction.
On this basis, the commission concluded that the deal is unlikely to create or strengthen a dominant position or substantially lessen competition in relevant markets, and accordingly authorised the transaction under the law.
The approval reflects ongoing consolidation and diversification trends in Pakistan’s sugar and allied industries, particularly in ethanol and bio-based segments, where such integrations are seen as a means of improving efficiencies and supporting downstream industrial development within competition law limits.
