PTCL poised to acquire Pakistan operations of Norwegian telecom firm

ISLAMABAD: The PTCL and Telenor Pakistan are all set to finalize an acquisition deal expected to be announced soon.

The PTCL’s Board held its meeting in Dubai and granted its assent for acquiring Telenor Pakistan. “The deal has been finalized with approximately $400 to $450 million,” top official sources confirmed while talking to The News here on Wednesday night.

The PTCL has decided to acquire Telenor Pakistan and its Board has also granted its assent, said the official. Last August 2023, the PTCL had given a binding offer to acquire one target company. This binding offer was given to acquire Telenor Pakistan. Earlier, the PTCL had given a non-binding offer to Telenor Pakistan during the last financial year. According to PTCL’s communication sent out to the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Tuesday, “In continuation of our earlier letter dated Jan 31, 2023, the Board of Directors of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (the “PTC/Company) has authorized the Company to explore potential investment opportunity(ies) in the telecom sector in Pakistan. Under Sections 96 and 131 of the Securities Act, 2015 and Clause 5.6.1 of the Rule Book of the Pakistan Stock Exchange Limited (“PSX”), we hereby convey the following information; After a due diligence process, the Board of Directors on August 29th, 2023 authorized the Company to offer a binding offer to the target Company. Please note that this opportunity is subject to certain conditions, including inter alia acceptance of the offer, finalization and execution of definitive documents as well as receipt of all regulatory consents and approvals.”