Pakistan approves merger of Toyota and Daimler’s truck subsidiaries

Pakistan has approved the merger of German and Japanese truck manufacturers as part of the companies’ broader global restructuring arrangement.

The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has approved two interconnected mergers involving Toyota Motor Corporation, Daimler Truck AG, Hino Motors Limited, and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC).

Together, they form a single integrated business restructuring aimed at consolidating and jointly managing the commercial vehicle operations of Hino and MFTBC through a newly established holding structure.

As per the merger plan announced last year, Toyota Motor’s subsidiary Hino Motors Ltd and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus, a subsidiary of Germany's Daimler Truck, will merge into a new holding company.

Toyota Motor Corporation, through its subsidiary, has acquired full ownership of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation. Daimler Truck has acquired an interest in a newly incorporated holding company, AIB Limited, through which Hino and MFTBC will be jointly owned and managed.

The company will be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Prime market in April.

The CCP’s assessment of both transactions focused on their potential impact on competition in Pakistan, particularly in the manufacturing and distribution of buses and trucks.

While the assessment identified some overlap between the commercial vehicle operations of Hino and MFTBC, the Commission found that the restructuring does not create or strengthen a dominant position in the relevant markets.

The commercial vehicle sector in Pakistan remains competitive, with several established players continuing to operate in the market, the CCP ruled.

Regarding Daimler Truck’s acquisition of an interest in the holding company, the commission noted that Daimler Truck no longer has any independent commercial vehicle operations in Pakistan. The only relevant interest, MFTBC, had already been acquired by Toyota under the first part of the restructuring. As a result, this transaction was found to be competitively neutral and does not affect market competition in Pakistan.

Based on its assessment, the Competition Commission of Pakistan concluded that the two interconnected transactions, when considered together as part of a single broader restructuring, do not raise any competition concerns.