El Salvador’s superintendent of competition has reportedly stated that the country’s authorities will clear America Movil’s local Claro unit to acquire two domestic operations from Telefonica.
Reuters reported a statement from the watchdog as identifying that the $315 million deal could create “limits on competition”, and that Claro must therefore ensure certain criteria protecting consumer interests are met before it receives final approval for the acquisition.
One of the key conditions is that Claro must refrain from using any spectrum currently in use by Telefonica’s Movistar units until it receives certification to do so. Additionally, Claro must maintain all of Movistar’s current marketing plans for the next seven years, although tariffs can be updated.
Claro’s El Salvador unit first announced its intention to acquire Telefonica’s Movistar unit – which operates Telefonica Moviles El Salvador and Telefonica Multiservicios - in January 2019, but the acquisition has run into regulatory hurdles.
In September 2019, El Salvador’s competition watchdog dismissed Claro’s application to acquire Movistar on the grounds that it was unable to predict the deal’s future effect on competition since Claro had not provided sufficient information.
