Mergers & Acquisitions in Jordan

M&A in Jordan runs under the Companies Law No. 22 of 1997, with merger control under the Competition Law No. 33 of 2004 and listed-company takeovers under the Securities Law No. 18 of 2017. We advise buyers, sellers and investors from the first term sheet through due diligence to closing and integration.

Buying or selling a business in Jordan runs through a sequence of legal, regulatory, tax, and commercial decisions. The order in which they are handled affects how much value reaches closing. Abdullah & Partners advises established Jordanian companies, regional acquirers, private equity sponsors, and founder-shareholders on M&A transactions of every size.

A significant part of our M&A work involves foreign buyers acquiring Jordanian targets, or Jordanian groups expanding into the Gulf and North Africa. We work seamlessly with international counsel on conditions precedent, foreign investment restrictions, FX and repatriation issues, and the structuring of holding vehicles for tax efficiency. Our lawyers are comfortable negotiating in English and Arabic and have closed deals under New York, English, DIFC, and Jordanian governing law.

Much of the value in an M&A engagement is in the work before signing: confirming the target is what it appears to be, and that the price and structure reflect what the due diligence found.

An acquisition in Jordan runs across several statutes at once. The Companies Law No. 22 of 1997 governs how shares in limited liability and public shareholding companies are transferred and how mergers are carried out, with registrations moving through the Companies Control Department. Larger deals can trigger merger control under the Competition Law No. 33 of 2004, where an economic concentration above the statutory thresholds needs clearance from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply before completion. Acquisitions of companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange fall under the Securities Law No. 18 of 2017 and the oversight of the Jordan Securities Commission, including the takeover-offer rules that protect minority shareholders. Distressed acquisitions are shaped by the Jordanian Insolvency Law, and cross-border buyers also need to check foreign-ownership limits in the relevant sector. We sequence these approvals so that a deal closes cleanly rather than stalling at a regulator. Source: Jordan Securities Commission.