The board of directors at Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has officially approved the acquisition of Telenor Pakistan, a prominent telecom enterprise offering cellular and digital services. This development, reported by The News, was confirmed on a Tuesday, following the board’s unanimous approval to extend a binding offer for the acquisition.
Previously, PTCL had presented a non-binding offer to Telenor Pakistan. However, the authority will now proceed with a binding offer after receiving confirmation from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) regarding the preferred payment method. This binding offer is anticipated to be presented to Telenor Pakistan on either September 1st or 2nd.
Notably, Telenor Pakistan has also received a bidding offer from a Lebanese investor, and the company is now in the process of making its final decision. Sources suggest that the sale of Telenor Pakistan is expected to conclude within a valuation range of $500 million to $700 million.
PTCL communicated this significant development to the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Tuesday. It mentioned that following a thorough due diligence process, the board of directors, on August 29, 2023, granted the company the authority to extend a binding offer to Telenor Pakistan.
Earlier in the year, PTCL had initiated discussions with Telenor Pakistan, initially offering a non-binding proposal to acquire the company within a potential price range of $800 million to $1.2 billion. The PTCL’s board of directors, who were keen on acquiring a majority stake in Telenor, sought to secure management control of the cellular company.
To facilitate this acquisition, Etisalat, PTCL’s parent company, has provided guarantees to secure commercial loans required to finalize the deal.
