Brazilian telco Oi has informed its shareholders that the Administrative Council for Economic Defence (Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Economica, CADE) has approved the sale of its Oi Movel unit to a consortium comprising the telco’s domestic rivals, Telefonica Brasil (Vivo), TIM Brasil and Claro Brasil. The competition watchdog voted on the deal on 9 February.
TeleTime quotes CADE president Alexandre Cordeiro as saying: ‘Our mission is to defend the consumer, not the companies. But it is a case with repercussions and more than 40 million users of Oi Movel could be affected in the event of bankruptcy.’
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, Oi’s mobile unit was sold at auction on 14 December 2020, generating a final bid of BRL16.5 billion (USD3.25 billion). The National Telecommunications Agency (Agencia Nacional de Telecomunicacoes, Anatel) approved the deal on 31 January 2022.