The Lotte Chemical Pakistan Engro Polymer acquisition has been cleared by the CCP, Pakistan's competition regulator. The CCP approved Lotte Chemical Pakistan (LCPL) buying a shareholding in Engro Polymer & Chemicals (EPCL) from Engro Corporation Limited. The approval was announced in a statement on Tuesday, following a first-phase review under the 2010 competition law, and the regulator concluded that the deal is unlikely to weaken competition in the markets it examined.
Who is buying and what is being sold
LCPL makes and supplies purified terephthalic acid, known as PTA, inside Pakistan. PTA is mainly used as a raw material for polyester and PET plastic. EPCL makes polyvinyl chloride (PVC), caustic soda, hydrogen peroxide and other chlor-alkali chemicals, a family of industrial chemicals produced through a common process.
Lotte first made its plan public in March, when it said it wanted to buy a stake and gain control of EPCL. The competition clearance is the regulatory step that had to come before the deal could move ahead.
How the regulator assessed the deal
The CCP focused on PVC, caustic soda and hydrogen peroxide as the product markets that matter here, with Pakistan as the geographic area. It found that LCPL is not active in those markets, and that neither LCPL nor its linked companies buy anything from EPCL. As a result, the transaction does not create a horizontal or vertical overlap between the two firms.
EPCL is the only domestic maker of PVC, the regulator noted, though imports exert real competitive pressure. In caustic soda and hydrogen peroxide, EPCL has smaller market shares and faces other suppliers. The CCP also observed that the transaction changes who owns and controls EPCL but does not, on its own, add to the company's output, sales volumes or capacity.
What the clearance means for the companies
The authorisation was issued under clause (d)(i) of Section 31 of the competition law. The regulator's conclusion was that the deal is not likely to weaken rivalry or give either firm a dominant position in those markets. With that step complete, the Lotte Chemical Pakistan Engro Polymer acquisition no longer faces a competition hurdle in the areas the CCP reviewed. Price terms and the completion date were not part of the announcement.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Competition regulator CCP ne Lotte Chemical Pakistan ko Engro Polymer & Chemicals mein hissa kharidne ki manzoori de di hai. Regulator ke mutabiq is sauday se market mein muqabla bari had tak kam nahi hoga, aur EPCL ki paidawar ya sales mein izafa nahi hoga. Is khabar mein ghar ke bills, petrol ya nokriyon par seedha asar nahi bataya gaya. Agar aap EPCL ke shareholder hain, to company ke official elanat par nazar rakhein.
