GAC approves 269 economic concentration applications in 2025

Logo of The General Authority for Competition (GAC)

The General Authority for Competition (GAC) received 427 economic concentration applications in 2025, of which 269 were granted non-objection approvals, a 33% increase over 2024 representing the highest number of non-objections ever.

In a report, GAC said the average review period for economic concentration applications stood at 5.3 days in 2025, with the total value of the transactions reaching approximately SAR 2 trillion.

The authority noted that applications related to acquisitions by foreign entities with a presence or impact in the local market accounted for 75% of the total, while applications involving local entities as the acquiring or merging party represented 25%.

Acquisitions constituted the majority of economic concentration transactions at 86%, followed by joint ventures (JVs) at 9% and mergers at 4%. The authority also approved two applications for the registration of additional automobile agencies.

The manufacturing sector accounted for the largest share of notifiable economic concentration applications at 27%, followed by the wholesale, retail trade, motor vehicle and motorcycle repair sector at 14%, and the professional, scientific, and technical activities sector at 12%.