Anatel: No Regulatory Restrictions if Sonae Purchases PT

Brazil's telecoms watchdog Anatel has said that Portuguese conglomerate Sonae's proposed purchase of telecoms operator Portugal Telecom would not encounter any regulatory restrictions in Brazil, news service Folha Online reported.

A decision by Anatel was required because the operator holds a 50% stake in Brazil's largest mobile phone company Vivo. Spain's Telefónica owns the other 50%.

Sonae recently offered 11.1bn euros (US$14.3bn) for Portugal Telecom, but the operator rejected the bid saying that it did not meet its expectations of the true value of the company.

If successful, Sonae is expected to sell Portugal Telecom's stake in Vivo, according to newspaper reports.

In the event of that happening, Telefónica would be the most likely candidate to acquire full control of the mobile company."

Posted to the site on 30th January 2007