Telefónica and General International Telecom present a request for concentration to the SC

Press release

By Superintendency of Competition (SC) of El Salvador

The Superintendency of Competition (SC) received on Friday, October 22, the request for authorization of economic concentration related to the acquisition of control of the majority of the share capital of Telefónica Móviles El Salvador ( Movistar ) and Telefónica Multiservicios by the General International Telecom group The Savior.

In case of being admitted for processing (for review), the SC must carry out a technical analysis on the possible effects on competition that the transaction could cause, as established in art. 34 of the LC, taking into account the criteria established in articles 28 and 29 of the same law, prioritizing economic efficiency and consumer welfare. For this, the SC has 90 business days to settle and resolve the approval, conditioning or denial of the proposed transaction. It is important to clarify that this period can be paused according to the terms established by the LPA.

In accordance with the procedure to authorize an economic concentration established in the Competition Law (LC), upon receipt of the request, the SC will proceed to check that each of the conditions established in the LC, its regulations and others are met. applicable laws.

Once the application requirements have been reviewed, three scenarios can occur: that the application is admitted for processing, that the application is prevented or that it is declared inadmissible.

If the request is prevented, it means that the economic agent needs to add information so that the SC can carry out an in-depth analysis. This status does not indicate that the SC has denied the request, it only seeks to supplement the information necessary to meet the requirements of the law. According to Art. 72 of the LPA, if a prevention is made, the applicants will have a period of 10 business days, extendable for 5 more days, to complete the information, otherwise the request may be declared inadmissible. This does not imply a denial of the SC either, since the agent will be able to process the request again as many times as he wishes.

Finally, if an application is declared inadmissible, it means that the concentration is not subject to the control of economic concentrations provided in the LC, thus transcending the direct competence of the SC.

With the analysis of economic concentrations, the SC seeks to prevent any impact on the market that could arise as a consequence of the transaction, in its role of promoting, protecting and guaranteeing competition.

In accordance with the procedure to authorize an economic concentration established in the Competition Law (LC), upon receipt of the request, the SC will proceed to check that each of the conditions established in the LC, its regulations and others are met. applicable laws.

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