ISLAMABAD ( BMZ REPORT )
While the rumors have been circulating for a while, it seems that the merger between Ufone and PTCL has stalled.
According to a confirmed source within the two organizations, TelcoAlert.com has learned that both companies that have been under Etisalat are now facing a very difficult hurdle in their merger process.
Etisalat has been working on the merger for some time now. The first signs were the replacement of CEOs of both companies back in March 2016. Both Walid Irshad and Abdul Aziz, who were the CEOs of PTCL and Ufone respectively were replaced back then.
Another sign that pointed towards the merger was the visit of a high profile team of Etisalat that met Minister of Finance, Mr Ishaq Dar and other concerned officials. However, during this meeting, it was made clear to Etisalat that the pending payment of 800 million dollars should be cleared and only then the government will give go ahead to the process and support it.
The Government of Pakistan has included this sum of money in its previous budgets. However this year, this sum was missing from it. Many thought that the amount has been waived off. However this has now be rebuked by the demand of Mr Ishaq Dar.
This has seriously affected the process of merger between the two companies. It has been confirmed that the message received from the top management of Etisalat is to stop the merger process.
It should be stated here that Zong had previously offered to purchase PTCL along with paying the outstanding 800 million dollars that it owed to the Government. However Etisalat clearly stated that PTCL or Ufone were not for sale. However industry experts still believe that Zong still is very much interested in both PTCL and Ufone.