EGoM on Telecom likely to meet next week to discuss M&A rules

NEW DELHI: The Empowered Group of Ministers on telecom, headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, is likely to meet next week and discuss the long-awaited mergers and acquisitions (M&A) rules.

"The Department of Telecom is co-ordinating for a date in the first week of December. Final date has to be decided by the EGoM," a government official told PTI.

The EGoM last met on November 22 when it was to take call on M&A guidelines that is expected to pave way for consolidation of mobile phone companies in the sector.

The ministers had decided on spectrum base price and other details for the third round of auction at the meeting.

Inter-ministerial panel Telecom Commission has given its nod to allow telecom companies to merge in a manner that their market share does not exceed 50 per cent in terms of subscriber base.

The Cabinet has already announced broad guidelines with respect to M&A Policy.

The EGoM has to take call on pricing and fees related to mergers and acquisition rules. These include spectrum charges that an entity formed after merger would have to pay on its total holding, lock-in period of the merged entity and a transfer fee on spectrum allocated to a company and gets moved to another entity within period of three years as result of M&A.