On 1 November 2023, the General Authority for Competition of Saudi Arabia (GAC) announced new merger control thresholds.

GAC’s board of directors introduced new requirements for economic concentrations filings with the GAC. This decision follows the previous amendment made on 28 March 2023 when the GAC raised the minimum turnover threshold for merger control filings from SAR 100 million to SAR 200 million.

A merger filing will be required if each of the following thresholds are met:

1. The aggregate total annual sales of all parties involved in the economic concentration must exceed SAR 200 million.
2. The target entity’s total annual sales must exceed SAR 40 million.
3. The aggregate total sales within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the parties involved in the economic concentration should exceed SAR 40 million.

Importantly, it appears that these three new requirements must be met cumulatively.

This new framework aims to streamline the economic concentration notification process, making it more challenging for businesses to trigger GAC filings, promotes greater ease for the private sector establishments involved in economic concentrations operations, and would enhance the overall appeal of the market. Ultimately, it allows the GAC to focus its attention on transactions that genuinely impact competition within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.