Saudi Authority for Competition‏ ‏approves Sami’s acquisition of ‎‎51% of Saudi Rotorcraft Support Company

The General Authority for Competition announced today that it has no objection to the (Sami Aerospace and Aviation Company Limited) acquisition of 51% of the (Saudi Rotorcraft Support Company). (Sami Aerospace and Aviation Co., Ltd.) will own 51% of the (Saudi Rotorcraft Support Company), while (Boeing) will retain its 49% stake in the company.

The Authority defined the commodity dimension of the deal as the market for services, maintenance, repair and renewal of helicopters, adding that it has determined the geographical scope of the deal in the global market, and accordingly the authority has studied the market for services, maintenance, repair and renewal of helicopters in the world to determine whether there are concerns about competition or not.

The Authority’s study concluded that it is not expected that there will be fears affecting competition in the Kingdom, since the parties to the deal have small shares in the relevant market and do not raise competition concerns.

It stated that the deal will not lead to any increase in market share, as the acquiring facility is not active in the relevant market, and therefore will not result in any market dominance from this acquisition.

In the same context, the official spokesman for the General Authority for Competition, Saad Al Masoud, said that the Authority is keen to maintain market stability and consumer welfare when analyzing requests for economic concentration.