Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has received approval from the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) for its planned acquisition of Telenor Pakistan, following a Phase-II review of the merger application.
According to a filing by the PTCL, the approval, granted on October 1, 2025, moves PTCL one step closer to finalising the acquisition of Telenor Pakistan (Private) Limited and Orion Towers (Private) Limited.
The acquisition was initially announced in December 2023, when PTCL entered into a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Telenor Pakistan BV (TPBV). As per the terms, PTCL is set to acquire the entire issued share capital of Telenor Pakistan and Orion Towers.
The transaction, however, remains subject to various corporate and regulatory approvals, as well as the completion of necessary formalities and agreements.
The CCP’s Phase-II order, issued in accordance with the Competition Act, 2010, and the Competition (Merger Control) Regulations, 2016, marks a significant step in the approval process, but the finalization of the deal will depend on the completion of other required formalities.
This acquisition is part of PTCL’s broader efforts to strengthen its position in Pakistan’s telecom and infrastructure sectors, although the transaction is still contingent on other regulatory procedures and approvals before it can be officially concluded.
On Tuesday, the PTCL’s Policy Board accepted the terms and conditions set by the CCP for its merger with Telenor Pakistan. After the merger, Ufone–Telenor Pakistan will become almost as large as Jazz, pushing Zong into third place in the country’s telecom market.
A CCP official acknowledged that the deal will create a highly concentrated operator, raising potential dominance concerns. “We also examined the risk of PTCL abusing its dominant position post-merger,” the official said. However, the regulator noted that its conditional approval framework, which includes safeguards on pricing, interconnection, infrastructure sharing, and fair competition, should mitigate those risks. “If enforced effectively, the merger could deliver efficiencies, improve service quality, cut infrastructure duplication, and generate cost savings,” the official added.
