El Salvador’s competition watchdog has ruled that the sale of Telefonica’s Movistar and Telefonica Multiservicios units to General International Telecom Limited requires no antitrust authorisation.
CommsUpdate reports that the Superintendency of Competition (Superintendencia de Competencia) has reviewed the application for approval of the sale and found no action to be necessary for two main reasons.
Firstly, General International Telecom Limited had no presence in El Salvador prior to the sale. Secondly, the acquisition will not affect the number of operators in the market, which will remain at four.
In October 2021, Telefonica agreed to sell its entire 99.3% holding in its El Salvador unit to General International Telecom Limited for US$144 million. Telefonica Moviles El Salvador is owned by Telefonica Centroamerica Inversiones, in which Spain-headquartered Telefonica group holds a 60% stake, with the remaining 40% held by Corporacion Multi Inversiones.
The sale forms part of Telefonica’s wider strategy of focusing on core markets and reducing its risk exposure in Latin America. The group is also divesting assets in a bid to reduce its debt. The deal must meet additional conditions before it closes.
