This archive report was first published on 13 December 2019.
On December 13, 2019, the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) gave its greenlight for the planned merger of Airtel Kenya and Telkom Kenya, paving the way for the creation of Airtel-Telkom.
According to a notice published in the Kenya Gazette, the merged entity will be required to retain at least 349 of the 674 employees of Telkom Kenya, with specific conditions for their retention.
CAK boss Wang'ombe Kariuki stated that the merged entity will ensure that 120 employees are retained for a period of two years, while 114 employees will be retained by Telkom Kenya Limited for the same period. Additionally, 115 employees will be absorbed by the network partners of the merged entity.
The merged entity, Airtel-Telkom, will also be required to honour all existing government contracts and will not be allowed to sell or transfer some of its operating and frequency spectrum licences until their duration expires.
Furthermore, the companies will not be allowed to enter into any other sale deal in the next five years as part of conditions for the merger's approval. However, in the event of any indication of a failing firm within the period, the Communications Authority shall conduct a forensic audit at the cost of the merged entity.
