The authorities have now placed a hold on the plan for the e& rebranded name of the merged telecom company by Ufone and Telenor, due to certain legal and governance issues that are yet to be sorted out. This development has come at a time when the PTCL is in the process of working out the identity of the new telecom entity.

Merger Background Behind the Ufone-Telenor e& Rebranding

The rebranding exercise came after PTCL took over Telenor Pakistan, which resulted in both of these Pakistani telecom service providers being united into one organization. Within the scope of the strategy after the merger, there was a suggestion that the new organization be named “e&,” consistent with the international brand name of the telecom and technology company from the UAE. However, the government has intervened before the process has taken place.

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Those conducting the review of the rebranding efforts of Ufone-Telenor e& rebranding considered problems of sufficient magnitude to make the suspension of the project a necessity rather than a temporary hold. Without being provided with the exact information about what those problems were, we know from experience that they are most likely connected to regulatory issues, shareholder structure, or other compliance-related matters that need to be resolved prior to proceeding with such rebranding.

Until the government is done with the process, the merger between Ufone and Telenor will still run as per its current brand instead of making the move to e& brand. The situation creates uncertainty among consumers, employees and industry analysts as to the final branding that the telecom company will adopt in the competitive environment in Pakistan.

This decision comes in the wake of an ongoing consolidation process that has been going on for some time in the telecommunications industry in Pakistan, given all the speculations that have been made for many years regarding mergers of operators in the country. The re-branding of the two merged companies under one brand name was meant to signify a new beginning for the business entity.

Since the rebranding of Ufone-Telenor E & is currently on hold, the question that needs to be answered now is how soon the government will be able to address all the governance issues. Prior to that, it seems that PTCL and the combined company will continue to operate under their existing brand name.