Uber Technologies Inc. has been given approval by Egypt’s Competition Authority to acquire Middle Eastern ride-hailing startup Careem Networks FZ some nine months after the deal was announced.

Careem operates in 120 cities across North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, but of the markets the company operates in, Egypt is the largest in the Middle East for ride-hailing services.

“We welcome the decision by the ECA to approve Uber’s pending acquisition of Careem,” a spokesperson for Uber said today. “Uber and Careem joining forces will deliver exceptional outcomes for riders, drivers, and cities across Egypt.”

The approval was not without hurdles. The ECA warned in September that the two companies should not proceed with the deal before receiving permission. Concerns from the ECA included “monopolistic practices” and the prohibition of acts committed abroad “should these acts result in the prevention, restriction, or harm of the freedom of competition.”

According to Ahram Online, the approval to proceed from the ECA is conditional on several “obligations and controls” being put in place. The controls include setting a maximum cap for fares and surge periods and setting a maximum cap for service fees from drivers that do not exceed the current rates of 22.5% for Uber X and 25.5% for Careem-Go rides.

Uber has also agreed to abandon exclusivity provisions with partners and intermediaries to reduce barriers to entry into the market. In addition, Uber must appoint an independent monitoring trustee approved by the ECA to ensure adherence to the commitments.

All of the obligations and controls are applicable for five years or until one or more alternative ride-hailing providers achieves a 20% weekly market share or 30% share collectively across various cities.

The $3.1 billion Careem deal bucked a trend for Uber that had seen it exit markets it wasn’t dominating. Previous exits include selling its mainland China business to Didi Chuxing Technology Co. in 2016, its Russian business to Yandex Europe AG in 2017 and its  Southeast Asia Grab Taxi Pte. Ltd. in 2018.

It’s also a positive end to the year for a company that never has a dull moment. In December alone Uber was banned from Germany and was negotiating an exit to its food delivery business in India. Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick is also leaving the company entirely, announcing Dec. 24 that he’s stepping down from the Uber board and selling all of his shares.

The acquisition of Careem is now expected to close in the first quarter.

Image: Uber