Brazil's competition watchdog Cade has approved the merger of Grupo Oi SA and Portugal Telecom SGPS SA with no restriction, according to a decision published in the country's official gazette on Tuesday.The two telecom carriers in October announced plans to combine their operations to form a new company with more than 100 million subscribers and almost $19 billion in annual revenue.Oi's preferred shares jumped 5.6 percent on the news, which Credit Suisse analysts considered "positive, albeit expected by the market."The new company resulting from the merger, known as CorpCo, is seen as an attempt by Oi to gain more clout to compete in Brazil with bigger rivals such as Spain's Telefonica SA , Telecom Italia SpA's TIM Participa��es SA, and Mexico's America Movil SAB.
Oi SA, formerly Brasil Telecom SA, is a Brazil-based holding company engaged in the provision of Switched Fixed-line Telephony Services (STFC) domestically and internationally. Shares of OIBR traded higher by 1.64% or $0.03/share to $1.86. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $1.42 and as high as $4.51. On average, 4682150 shares of OIBR exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 6153608.
Shares of OIBR-C traded higher by 2.76% or $0.05/share to $1.86. On average, 0 shares of OIBR-C exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 84187.
Portugal Telecom SGPS SA (Portugal Telecom) is a Portugal-based holding company primarily engaged in the telecommunications sector. Shares of PT fell by 2.07% or $-0.1/share to $4.74. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $3.47 and as high as $5.91. On average, 265976 shares of PT exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 227665.
Telefonica SA is a Spain-based company active in the telecommunications and digital services sectors. Shares of TEF fell by 0.6% or $-0.1/share to $16.57. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $12.31 and as high as $18.05. On average, 1100220 shares of TEF exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 1104682.
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