Research & Media Acquisition of Majority Stake, in Eight Company, Approved

The Saudi Research and Media Group’s acquisition of 51% shares of Eight Publishing and Distribution company, get t the General Authority for Competition approval,

In addition, all parties related to the concentration work, in the media and entertainment industry have shown favorable stance towards the move, according to the General Authority for Competition.

As a result, the commodity component of this transaction was identified based on the parties’ overlapping services, or for namely providing of podcasts to clients.

The authorities looked into the podcasting industry to see if there were any problems regarding competition.

Because the parties’ market share is minimal and does not represent any competition challenges, the Authority’s assessment concluded that there will be no problems, whatsoever, that may affect competition in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The authority also stated that the podcast business is one of the easiest to enter and quit, because every member of society can start their own podcast.

The podcast industry is big and diverse, with a significant number of competing rivals.