Competition authority authorizes Distrivehic to purchase 49.99% of Mareauto

The Superintendency of Economic Competition authorized the economic concentration operation through which Distrivehic Distribuidora de Vehículos S.A.S. acquires 49.99% of the share capital of Mareauto S.A., whereby the acquiring economic group moves from exercising joint control to exclusive control over the vehicle leasing company. The decision is contained in Resolution SCE-CRPI-27-2026, issued by the First Instance Resolution Commission and published in the Fourth Supplement No. 408 of the Official Registry on Thursday, November 12, 2026, consisting of 51 pages and a summary headed by the Transparency and Social Control Function.

The resolution was signed on September 25, 2026, at 3:00 p.m., in the Metropolitan District of Quito, and certified by the Secretary General of the Superintendency of Economic Competition, Jorge Marcelo Rojas Salazar. Case file SCE-CRPI-27-2026 was based on report SCE-IGT-INCCE-2026-25, dated September 18, 2026, prepared by the National Superintendency for the Control of Economic Concentrations, which recommended authorizing the operation under Article 21 of the Organic Law for the Regulation and Control of Market Power (LORCPM). The transaction was formalized through a Share Purchase Framework Agreement signed on March 11, 2026, between Mareauto Ecuador Holdings S.A.S. (MEHS), Distrivehic, Corporación Maresa Holding S.A.S. (CMH), and Kandeo Fund I (Colombia) FCP.

From joint control to exclusive control

Prior to the operation, Mareauto S.A. was subject to the joint control of Corporación Maresa Holding S.A.S. and Mareauto Ecuador Holdings S.A.S., each holding 49.99% of its capital, while the remaining 0.02% belonged to Mareauto itself. With the purchase, MEHS ceases to be part of the shareholder structure and its stake is acquired by Distrivehic, a company 99.93% controlled by CMH.

The result is that the group led by CMH concentrates practically all of the share capital of Mareauto and can independently make decisions that require the statutory majority of 70%. Therefore, the Commission qualified the transaction as an economic concentration under the terms of literal c) of Article 14 of the LORCPM, in accordance with Article 12 of its Regulation.

The acquiring group also includes Autosharecorp S.A., dedicated to the import and commercialization of vehicles, spare parts, and after-sales services, and Manufacturas, Armadurías y Repuestos Ecuatorianos S.A. Maresa, linked to assembly. Furthermore, Mareauto maintains corporate ties with Mareauto Perú S.A. and Alivo Leasing S.A.C.

Highly concentrated market, with confidential figures

The analysis defined six relevant markets:

• nationwide vehicle distribution;
• local vehicle marketing;
• local automotive repair and maintenance services;
• local short-term vehicle rental;
• nationwide long-term vehicle rental;
• local used light vehicle marketing.

In the short-term light vehicle rental market in Quito, the Commission recognizes a highly concentrated market, with an HHI of 2,992.22, in which Mareauto records a smaller share compared to operators with higher quotas and is located below the dominance threshold. The company’s high positions in Santo Domingo and Puerto Francisco de Orellana are pre-existing and are not increased by the transaction, therefore there is no horizontal accumulation.

Exceeded thresholds and vertical relationships without risks

The turnover in Ecuador of the participants, calculated with the 2025 financial information, amounts to USD 1,276,353,978, well above the threshold of USD 96,400,000 set for 2026, which triggered the mandatory notification provided for in literal a) of article 16 of the LORCPM. Literal b) of the same article was also met, due to shares exceeding 30% in the local short-term rental markets of Santo Domingo and Puerto Francisco de Orellana.

The authority identified vertical relationships between vehicle distribution and repair and maintenance services, on one hand, and vehicle rental, on the other, but concluded that there are no significant risks of input or customer foreclosure: Mareauto’s competitors have access to multiple importers, distributors, and alternative workshops. No contribution to capital diversification or employee shareholding was proven.

Unconditional authorization and public version

The Commission resolved to authorize the operation without conditions and declared the resolution confidential, ordering the preparation of its non-confidential version within one day for publication on the institutional website and in the Official Registry. The notification will be sent to Distrivehic via email and to the Intendancy within file SCE-IGT-INCCE-12-2026.

The act was signed by commissioners Marco Landázuri Álvarez, Ingreed Cajas Torres, Miguel Cumbicus Jiménez, and Ángel Núñez López, and by the president of the Commission, Marcelo Ortega Rodríguez.

The authorization closes the administrative file and clears the way for the country’s largest automotive group to consolidate control of a leasing company active in the corporate and fleet segment. For users and companies that rent vehicles, the regulator maintains that the concentration does not alter the existing competitive pressure, although the file itself acknowledges that Quito operates as a highly concentrated rental market, a fact that will remain under observation in future operations within the sector.

Source: Official Registry, Fourth Supplement No. 408, Thursday, November 12, 2026, Transparency and Social Control Function, p. 5 (official reference: Resolution SCE-CRPI-27-2026).