GAC grants Jahez conditional approval to buy 100% of The Chefz

Logo of Jahez International Company for Information Systems Technology

The General Authority for Competition (GAC) granted a conditional approval for Jahez International Company for Information System Technology to fully acquire The Chefz SPV Ltd.

The decision came after competitive valuation and analysis of the expected impacts on competition, GAC said in a statement.

The approval sets requirements and conditions for the new entity arising from the acquisition, to ensure fair competition and keep market open to establishments aiming to foray into or expand in the market.
 

The authority will, in accordance with its granted powers, monitor the companies’ behavior after finalizing the deal and test the extent of their compliance with the established requirements.
 

GAC indicated that the conditions it set for this approval are as below:
 

First: Jahez and The Chefz shall commit to not linking the various complementary services provided to restaurants and stores to ensure continuity to not suspending the sale of the commodity, or dealing in it, on the condition of assuming a commitment or accepting a commodity that is inherently or under commercial use that is not related to the commodity that is the subject of the original contract or transaction.
 

Second: Not to require restaurants or stores - or oblige them - to contract exclusively with The Chefz and Jahez by including an exclusivity clause in commercial contracts or other clauses that include:
 

A) Requiring an establishment to refrain from dealing with an application or platform competing with Jahez or Chefz platforms.
 

B) Performing any other behavior (including granting incentives or privileges to restaurants or stores) that leads to an establishment not dealing with an application or platform competing with Jahez or Chefz.

Third: The parties to the deal shall take the necessary measures to create a specific and announced policy to notify restaurants and stores about the cases under which dues are deducted and the mechanism for calculating them according to the contractual terms concluded with those restaurants and stores, with an emphasis on ensuring the transparency of the process of deducting dues through relevant reports and invoices.
 

Fourth: The parties to the deal shall take the necessary measures to create a specific and announced policy to notify restaurants and stores about the prices of the marketing services provided and the conditions related to them, while emphasizing the need to ensure the transparency of marketing services through relevant reports and invoices. 

On Nov. 29, 2022, Jahez signed a share purchase agreement (SPA) to acquire 134,620 shares in The Chefz, representing a 100% stake, Argaam reported.

The SPA was signed with Abdulrahman Abdullah Alshabanat, Abdulrahman Ahmed Almarshed, Abdullah Mohammed Aldosari, Saqr Fund L.P, Impact46 Seed Fund/Impact Seed Fund Co., and Muthmir for Investment Co.

The Chefz founders are to receive an earn-out amount equal to SAR 100 million in cash, subject to various performance-related targets being attained over an earn-out period from Jan. 1, 2022 to Dec. 31, 2022, as agreed between both the founding members of The Chefz and Jahez.