This archive report was first published on 13 December 2019.
On December 13, 2019, the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) gave the green light for the proposed merger of Airtel and Telkom, paving the way for the two giant telcos to challenge Safaricom's dominance in the industry.
The regulator's approval came with a list of conditions that the merged entity, Airtel-Telkom, must adhere to. These include maintaining at least 349 of the existing 674 employees, with 120 employees to be retained by the merged entity for two years.
Additionally, the new entity has been instructed to ensure that 114 employees are kept by Telkom for two years, while another 115 employees must be absorbed by the network partners of the merged entity.
The regulator has also directed Airtel-Telkom to honour all government contracts and not sell or transfer their operating and frequency spectrum licenses within the remaining duration of their licenses.
Furthermore, the merged entity is restricted from entering into any form of sale agreement within the next five years and must access the 4,204km of fiber managed by Telkom on behalf of the government at the current market rates.
Directors of the merged entity will be required to furnish the regulator with annual reports on its compliance with these conditions.
