Rivals worried over PTCL-Telenor merger reports: CCP

Firms in the telecom sector are worried that the acquisition of Telenor Pakistan by the Pakistan Telecommunication Ltd (PTCL) will harm their interests, the Competition Commission said on Monday. In what is believed to be one of the largest deals in the country’s telecom sector, the agreement will see Ufone merge with Telenor Pakistan, making the joint company a close rival of Jazz, the nation’s largest telecom firm. The CCP said in a statement that it had received the PTCL’s application for permission to acquire 100 per cent shareholding of Telenor Pakistan (Pvt) and the Orion Towers Private on Feb 29. But the money submitted with the application was less than the specified amount, the CCP said, adding that PTCL paid the remaining amount on March 6.