RIYADH: American companies accounted for a quarter of all foreign economic concentration applications in Saudi Arabia during the second quarter of 2026.
British and German companies followed, each accounting for 6.5 percent, according to Talal Al-Haqil, director of the Mergers and Acquisitions Department at the General Authority for Competition.
In an interview on the “Aswaaq Al Sharq” program on Asharq Bloomberg, Al-Haqil explained that foreign entities accounted for 75 percent of the 112 economic concentration applications submitted during the second quarter, compared with 25 percent submitted by local entities.
The regulations define economic concentration applications as any transaction resulting in the full or partial transfer of ownership of assets, rights, shares, stakes, or obligations from one entity to another, or the merger of two or more entities under a joint management structure.
According to the GAC’s quarterly report, the value of economic concentration requests exceeded SR373 billion ($99 billion) in the second quarter of 2026.
Al-Haqil attributed the continued investment momentum to the attractiveness of the manufacturing sector, which led economic concentration requests during the second quarter, accounting for 34 percent of the total. He noted that the sector is one of the most attractive for investors and has consistently led economic concentration requests.
Al-Haqil expects an increase in economic concentration requests during the third quarter of 2026, particularly among listed companies, with the healthcare and industrial sectors expected to lead such deals in the coming period.
Acquisitions in listed companies
The second quarter of 2026 witnessed several prominent acquisition deals on the Saudi Stock Exchange’s main market and parallel market. Gasco completed its acquisition of a 50 percent stake in Jacko Gases. Meanwhile, ADES Holding signed an agreement to acquire Saipem Saudi Arabia for SR1.07 billion.
The controlling stake in United Mining Industries Co. was transferred to Knauf International, which later announced its intention to submit a bid to acquire the entire company, while Spimaco Pharmaceuticals increased its ownership stake in Enaya Co.
Saudi Aramco completed its acquisition of all shares in Al-Tash’helat Marketing Co., which operates and owns a chain of fuel stations and car service centers in the Kingdom.
