ISLAMABAD  -  The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) Monday said that the pre-merger application for PTCL’s acquisition of Telenor Pakistan is still under review.

The CCP said that PTCL intends to ac­quire 100% shareholding of M/s. Telenor Pakistan (Private) Limited (“Telenor”) and M/s. Orion Towers Private Limited (“OT”). CCP received a pre-merger ap­plication on 29th February, 2024 from PTCL lawyers. Initially, the application was submitted with incorrect fee. The re­maining outstanding fee was sent to the Commission on 6th March, 2024.

CCP requested further information on 20th March, 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. PTCL has a wholly-owned subsidiary called Ufone. The acquisition of Telenor by PTCL will reduce the number of competitors offer­ing telephony service in the market.

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. The media is urged to avoid spec­ulation and dissemination of premature information about the merger. For accu­rate information, they are encouraged to contact the Commission directly.