ECA denies transferring ownership of ride-hailing Careem company to Uber

CAIRO - 3 September 2018: The Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) denied on Monday media reports that contracts were concluded to transfer the ownership of ride-hailing Careem to Uber.

In a statement, the ECA said it sent official notices to both ride-hailing companies warning them that any contracts that might appear to be an acquisition of shares or ownership transfer but are in fact an agreement between two rival companies to create a monopoly in the market constitutes a violation of the provisions of Article 6 of the Competition Protection Act that protects freedom of competition.

According to Article 6, the two companies, Uber and Careem should notify the authority before the conclusion of any merger or acquisition contracts, the statement said.

ECA also warned that it will take action to prevent any practice that proves to be harmful to consumers and to free competition.

According to media reports, Uber seeks to either acquire more than half of Careem after merging or fully purchase it in order to overcome the costly competition between the two companies.

The ECA statement referred to the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) that turned down a similar acquisition deal between two ride-sharing companies for fear it might affect free competition in the Singaporean market.