The Ministry of Industry and Commerce objected to the purchase of Telefónica

For the second time, the government issued a highly atypical ruling in the context of Telecom 's acquisition of Telefónica de Argentina . The first was in March, when the same Ministry issued an administrative injunction to "preemptively suspend" the effects of the transaction, which involved an investment of $1.245 billion . This measure was overturned by the courts earlier this month. The Civil and Commercial Chamber then ordered the government to refrain from taking "any measure contrary to the appeal granted."

However, yesterday it was revealed that the same Secretariat issued an "objection report" pursuant to Article 14 of Law 27,442. According to this "preliminary" analysis, the National Commission for the Defense of Competition identified "risks" due to the "potential effects on competition in the various telecommunications markets involved." Among these, the report referred to the "accumulation of radio spectrum" and market shares in residential, packaged, and corporate fixed-line services.

The report also adds that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the CNDC "will convene the parties to a special hearing to analyze possible measures to mitigate the potential negative effects of the merger on competition."

For their part, sources at Telecom Argentina considered that the report "was issued prematurely, untimely, and contrary to due process, given that the deadline granted by the Competition Law itself to the company for filing Form F2 is still in effect, which will demonstrate that the transaction not only does not violate competition, but will significantly benefit the general economic interest."