PTCL approves acquisition of Telenor Pakistan

• Board approves making binding offer for acquisition.
• Earlier PTCL gave non-binding offer to Telenor.
• Offer will be likely made on September 1 or 2.

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has announced its board's decision approving the acquisition of a telecom company, Telenor Pakistan — a cellular and digital services provider.

The development by the telecommunication authority, according to The News, was confirmed on Tuesday following its board's approval for making a binding offer to finalise the purchase.

The PTCL, earlier, gave a non-binding offer to the company. The authority will now make a binding offer after getting a confirmation from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) with regard to the mode of payment.

The offer is likely to be made to Telenor Pakistan on September 1 or 2.

Telenor Pakistan has also received a bidding offer from a Lebanese investor and the company will now take the final decision.

The sources said that the sale of Telenor Pakistan is expected to be finalised somewhere between $500 to $700 million.

The PTCL communique sent out to the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Tuesday stated that after a due diligence process, the board of directors on August 29, 2023, authorised the company to make a binding offer to the target firm.

At the start of the year, the PTCL made a non-binding offer to acquire Telenor Pakistan after eyeing to buy it at a possible price range of $800 million to $1.2 billion.

The PTCL's board of directors, which gave a nod to acquiring majority shares of Telenor, was interested in buying the cellular company with management control.

Etisalat, the PTCL’s parent company, gave guarantees to raise commercial loans to finalise the deal.