“It is actually unusual for an operation to take so long”, said Nuno Cunha Rodrigues in the Economy, Public Works, and Housing committee.

Nuno Cunha Rodrigues, who took office in March 2023, added that this delay is not motivated by the AdC, “but rather due to the fact that the parties involved in the concentration operation have been presenting” successive packages of commitments in light of the concerns presented by the Authority of Competition in April 2023.

According to the president of the AdC, between this month and December last year, Vodafone “did not present any package of commitments”. From the end of 2023 until April, Vodafone presented four commitment packages.

Vodafone signed, in September 2022, an agreement to buy the fourth operator in Portugal, Nowo, from Llorca JVCO Limited, owner of Masmovil Ibercom.

On March 25, 2024, ECO first reported that the AdC's draft decision rejected the purchase of Nowo by Vodafone.

“The AdC confirms that it issued a draft decision opposing the operation. The acquirer, although it presented several packages of commitments, failed to demonstrate that this acquisition would not have a negative impact on competition”, confirmed, at the time, an official source from the competition regulator.

If the decision becomes effective, Vodafone still has a legal mechanism, appealing to the Minister of Economy, to try to force the deal — which has only been used once in history, successfully. Ultimately, you can appeal to the courts.

In February, the president of Nowo, Miguel Venâncio, admitted to ECO that “the closure” of the operator is on the table if it is not acquired by Vodafone.