Khullar urges govt to rework on telecom M&A guidelines
22/09/2014 15:56
With a view that the country cannot carry on with 12 telecom operators, sectoral regulator Trai said current merger and acquisition (M&A) rules need to be reworked by the government for any pick up in consolidation activity, said the media report. "No jurisdiction in the world has 12 operators, mostly the countries have 5 or 4 telecom players and at some places 2. For this to happen (here) merger and acquisition guidelines have to be reworked," TRAI chairman Rahul Khullar said. The Chairman of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said the guidelines have been a non-starter as M&A activity has not taken place despite the industry being in dire need for consolidation. Telecom operators have long been demanding changes in the M&A rules, terming them difficult. Easing the M&A rules, the government had allowed mergers between firms with up to 50 per cent combined market share. Earlier, telecom firms were allowed to merge if their combined market shares in terms of subscriber base does not exceed 40 per cent in any of the nation's 22 circles or zones.
22/09/2014 15:56
With a view that the country cannot carry on with 12 telecom operators, sectoral regulator Trai said current merger and acquisition (M&A) rules need to be reworked by the government for any pick up in consolidation activity, said the media report. "No jurisdiction in the world has 12 operators, mostly the countries have 5 or 4 telecom players and at some places 2. For this to happen (here) merger and acquisition guidelines have to be reworked," TRAI chairman Rahul Khullar said. The Chairman of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said the guidelines have been a non-starter as M&A activity has not taken place despite the industry being in dire need for consolidation. Telecom operators have long been demanding changes in the M&A rules, terming them difficult. Easing the M&A rules, the government had allowed mergers between firms with up to 50 per cent combined market share. Earlier, telecom firms were allowed to merge if their combined market shares in terms of subscriber base does not exceed 40 per cent in any of the nation's 22 circles or zones.
