Tiisetso Motsoeneng
Tiisetso Motsoeneng
The Competition Tribunal, which blocked Telkom's plans to buy IT group Business Connexion (BCX) in June, found that the two companies were already implementing a merger without its approval, it said on Monday.
"Prior to these hearings, Telkom and BCX had already conducted 'integration meetings' attended by both BCX and Telkom employees, in which they attempted to outline areas of duplication and integration," the tribunal said.
Telkom was also reportedly going into customer meetings with BCX.
"We can say with certainty that at that time, Telkom seemed to know more about BCX's business than its own board," the tribunal said.
The tribunal made the comments when releasing its reasons for blocking the deal in which fixed telephone operator Telkom offered to buy BCX for R2,4billion.
The tribunal said the deal would have resulted in Telkom thwarting competition in the managed network service sector, which could have led to exiting of smaller players and lesser opportunities for consumers. - I-Net Bridge
Telkom and BCX 'jumped the gun'
Tiisetso Motsoeneng
Tiisetso Motsoeneng
The Competition Tribunal, which blocked Telkom's plans to buy IT group Business Connexion (BCX) in June, found that the two companies were already implementing a merger without its approval, it said on Monday.
"Prior to these hearings, Telkom and BCX had already conducted 'integration meetings' attended by both BCX and Telkom employees, in which they attempted to outline areas of duplication and integration," the tribunal said.
Telkom was also reportedly going into customer meetings with BCX.
"We can say with certainty that at that time, Telkom seemed to know more about BCX's business than its own board," the tribunal said.
The tribunal made the comments when releasing its reasons for blocking the deal in which fixed telephone operator Telkom offered to buy BCX for R2,4billion.
The tribunal said the deal would have resulted in Telkom thwarting competition in the managed network service sector, which could have led to exiting of smaller players and lesser opportunities for consumers. - I-Net Bridge