Articles

The office comprises of the following:

1. Mr. Mubashar Jamal (Director Mergers & Acquisitions)
2. Ms Rafia Shahid Kiani, (Asstt. Director Mergers & Acquisitions)
3. Ms Saman Mushtaq, (Asstt. Director Mergers & Acquisitions)

The purpose of this office is

• to facilitate those parties which are contemplating merger or acquisition (as defined in the Competition Act 2010) and want to get informal and non binding view of the Commission. AMFO shall provide;
• assistance in applying for merger clearance (filling of application forms and filing of documentation)
• information about the proposed acquisition or merger by approaching the Commission direct and not through third parties (such as lawyers or outside consultants)
• this service is also available for those law firms, consultants and third parties who want to obtain the commission's informal view about any specific matter in which they are advising their clients.

This office has been set up for the assistance of undertakings for submission of pre-merger applications. The applicant undertaking/s shall be provided help with the understanding and filing of the pre-merger applications and also provided an overview of the substantive provisions of the Competition Act, 2010 as well as Competition (Merger Control) Regulations, 2007. Following are the main objectives of the creation of the office:

• to facilitate the parties involved in the transaction, in submission of pre-merger applications.
• to provide available pre-emptive identification of the key and potential competitive concerns that may arise due to the proposed transaction. The parties, after they have approached the ‘AMFO' will be informed in advance and through an informal mechanism to ensure that all competition concerns are addressed.
• To encourage parties who are proposing an acquisition or merger to come direct to the Commission, thus preventing / saving the parties from the lengthy legal procedures and legal advisory fees. The aim is to reduce time and cost of compliance of acquiring / merging parties.
• To provide a confidential service whereby complex transactions can come to CCP for a preview. There can be a pre-emptive identification of the key and potential competition concerns, by provision of suggestions / conditions for approval of merger at our end which are implementable and commercially viable to the parties. Through this process merger remedies can also be indicated and will also be already accepted by the parties involved in transaction. This approach will provide a win-win situation for all the concerned parties, involved in the acquisition/merger transactions, and the Commission.

• The issues referred to AMFO would be examined by the officers comprising it, on the basis of facts made available to them and the relevant law. They may call for further information from the concerned parties for the proper examination of the case.
• The reply of the Commission would be of an advisory nature only and it should not be treated as a binding decision of the Commission in any way.
• The reply to the reference shall be issued within the minimum possible time, but not later than one week of the receipt of the complete information.
• Since this is an advisory facilitation service, the fee would be Rs. 100,000/- per case.

A direct telephone line has been dedicated for all the calls coming through to the AMFO to ensure easy access to advice seekers. The calls shall be received by Mr. Mubashar Jamal (Director Mergers & Acquisitions). The dedicated direct line for this purpose is 051-9100266.