We acted as lead expert counsel on competition policy on behalf of A.E.S. to examine the implications of the attempted hostile takeover of Compania Anonima Nacional Telefonos de Venezuela (“CANTV”) through a public bid of acquisition stocks.

Our firm was particularly asked to examine whether following the takeover of CANTV by AES, and laid down under the Venezuelan Law to Promote and Protect the Exercise of Free Competition, and if under the regime applicable under the Organic Law of Telecommunications, could bring undue economic concentration, able to consolidate a dominant position as to threaten potential competitors access to the means of communication of CEDC and CANTV.

In order to execute this project we revised Venezuelan regulations on free competition and telecommunications including; the Organic Law of Telecommunications, the Act to Promote and Protect the Exercise of Free Competition, System of evaluation and control of economic concentrations and the Analysis Guideless for the Evaluation of Economic Concentration Operations.

In the end, the material presented by our firm collaborated to prove that this case was a concentration of conglomerate which had no restrictive effects on competition. It was proved through a market analysis that these were two fundamentally different companies participating in two different relevant markets. Through this, our firm proved the case that this operation would ultimately generate additional efficiencies and synergies for the benefit of the market and the users.