Digicel/Claro deal still awaiting approval

Digicel announced in March that it would acquire Claro in Jamaica and sell its own businesses in El Salvador and Honduras to Claro’s parent company, América Móvil.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Thursday May 5, 2011 – The government has still not given the green light for Digicel to go ahead with the proposed merger with another mobile provider, Claro.

Minister with responsibility for Information, Daryl Vaz, provided the update yesterday.

“There have been a number of meetings internally in which the Prime Minister himself has been involved in. The Budget has intervened and the Prime Minister speaks early next week so I think that will be something that will be followed up and dealt with in due course in terms of a decision, it is definitely on the priority list,” he said.

Digicel announced in March that it would acquire Claro in Jamaica and sell its own businesses in El Salvador and Honduras to Claro’s parent company, América Móvil. 

The details of the transaction have not yet been disclosed.

The deal has been challenged by Digicel’s competitor, LIME.

LIME had said that considering the significance of the merger to the Jamaican telecommunications industry, the government, the Office of Utilities Regulation and the Fair Trading Commission should carefully assess it before making a decision.

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