El Salvador’s Superintendencia de Competencia has rejected America Movil’s application to acquire Telefonica’s local unit for the second time.
In both instances, the authority has made its decision to throw out the request for administrative reasons, and both Telefonica and America Movil have forfeited their right to appeal its latest decision.
In July, the regulator informed America Movil that it had not provided “certain information necessary to know the background of the operation proposed”, but the operator did not comply with the instruction before the August deadline.
After it has gathered the relevant information, America Movil is free to apply anew for the acquisition. The operator had its first application rejected in April after it failed to fill out required documentation.
Telefonica is in the process of divesting some of its Central American units, and America Movil announced its intent to acquire the El Salvador operation in January this year. The Superintendencia de Competencia has carried out a preliminary assessment of the transaction, and once it receives the requisite information from America Movil it will begin to calculate the deal’s ramifications for competition and consumer welfare.
