The chairman of the Brazilian telecoms regulator Anatel, Ronaldo Sardenberg, says the agency plans to vote on rules that would open the door for Oi (Telemar) to take control of Brasil Telecom Participacoes (BrT) within the next month. Bloomberg quotes Sardenberg as telling reporters that ‘the next regulation will probably allow’ the merger.
TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database writes that Telemar agreed a BRL5.86 billion (USD3.51 billion) takeover of rival operator BrT in April this year. To secure the deal, Oi agreed to pay BRL4.98 billion for the acquisition of Invitel, owner of Solpart Participacoes, which is itself the controller of BrT Participacoes. The remaining BRL881 million is being paid for BrT Participacoes’ shares held by other BrT stockholders. However, for the acquisition to complete, Anatel must approve changes in the telecoms rules that currently divide the nation into regions to bar phone companies from operating in more than one franchise area.