DoT to issue separate guidelines on M&A

New Delhi, Oct 19 (UNI) The Government today said it will soon issue separate guidelines on merger and acquisition in the telecom sector.

''Merger and acquisition guidelines will be issued separately,'' said an official statement from the Communications and IT Ministry.

Earlier, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had said no M&A should be allowed if the number of operators were to fall below four in any service area.

In case of M&A the marketshare of merged entity in the relevant service area will not exceed 40 per cent in terms of subscriber base or in terms of revenues, it said.

One operator can hold up to 10 per cent equity in another without any approval and anything beyond that and up to 20 per cent needs TRAI's permission.

UNI