PTCL's acquisition of Telenor to impact telecom competition: CCP

March 26, 2024 (MLN): Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd’s (PSX: PTC) acquisition of Telenor will reduce the number of competitors offering telephony service in the market, but Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has urged the media to avoid speculation and seek accurate information directly from the Commission.

The Commission has also received concerns from a competitor regarding the intended acquisition by PTCL. The CCP will complete its due diligence in due course.

A number of newspapers have publicized misleading information on behalf of CCP regarding the progress of the pre-merger application of PTCL.

PTCL intends to acquire 100% shareholding of Telenor Pakistan (Private) Limited and Orion Towers Private Limited.

CCP received a pre-merger application on February 29, 2024 from PTCL Lawyers.

Initially, the application was submitted with incorrect fee. The remaining outstanding fee was sent to the Commission on March 06, 2024.

CCP requested further information on March 20, 2024 in order to complete its due diligence.

The requisite information is still awaited from the PTCL lawyers.

The Commission has 30 working days to complete its due diligence after all the required information is submitted.

The 30 working days timeframe for the first phase review will commence after PTCL lawyers submit the outstanding information requested by the Commission.

It is pertinent to mention that the CCP’s merger department is processing 21 applications at the moment. Acquisition of Telenor by PTCL is one of those applications.

There were altogether five undertakings operative in Pakistan’s mobile telecom industry. This included Jazz, Zong, Telenor Pakistan, Warid and Ufone. Jazz acquired Warid in 2016.

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