Sure awaiting JCRA decision on its plans to buy Airtel-Vodafone

The JCRA said it was waiting for Sure to provide it with additional information before making a final decision.

The regulator’s original view in July 2023 was that the deal was likely to lead to a substantial reduction in competition and that it was of a mind to block the takeover.

Interested parties were invited to respond and the JCRA said it received an ‘upfront virtual mobile network operator’ commitment from Sure.

But after consideration of this the JCRA decided it needed more information to determine if the proposal was capable of addressing its competition concerns and it asked for this information to be provided.

In accordance with merger guidelines, the authority decided to ‘stop the clock’ on the merger application process, and said it would only resume once a satisfactory response had been received to the information request.

Sure Group CEO Alistair Beak said the company remained optimistic that the process would be resolved shortly.

‘We are unchanged in our belief that the combination of Sure and Airtel-Vodafone is vital for long-term investment in a sustainable competitive telecoms market, where we are committed to providing good value to customers,’ he said.

Guernsey Airtel CEO Sid Ahlawat was asked to comment on the delay but replied exactly as he did last June.

‘The proposed merger transaction involving Sure and GAL, if approved, will facilitate a consolidation to ensure the long-term sustainability of the telecom sector in the Bailiwick of Guernsey through enhanced and viable investments in mobile network infrastructure which will be beneficial for consumers, enterprises, employees and the telecom infrastructure as a whole.’