GAC approves JV between Al Hokair Holding, Aster Pharmacy

Logo of General Authority for Competition (GAC)

The General Authority for Competition (GAC) approved the application for a joint venture between Abdul Mohsen Abdulaziz Al Hokair Holding Group and Aster Pharmacy, for a chain of pharmacies under the Aster brand.

In a statement, GAC said that it defined the market concerned with the pharmacy market, and the commodity dimension was defined as a local scope, since the objective of the JV is to enter the Saudi market and compete in the local pharmacy market.

Upon studying the application for economic concentration and conducting the necessary competition tests, it was found that there are no concerns affecting competition in the Kingdom, as the market structure will unlikely see an effective change, given that the parties to the deal do not have market shares in the market, according to the authority.

It also indicated that the pharmacy market is characterized by high growth, which allows the entry of new investments that lead to improved competition, pointing out that the pharmacy market in the Kingdom has a large number of competitors.

GAC spokesman Saad Al Masoud, said that the authority is currently studying a number of applications for economic concentration in the health sector, including hospitals, pharmacies and medical laboratories.