True shares drop as top admin court pushes through lawsuit against merger

The court reversed the Central Administrative Court’s decision to reject the lawsuit, saying the deadline for suing the two telecom operators had expired. The five plaintiffs are subscribers of Advanced Info Services (AIS) and TrueMove.

The Supreme Administrative Court reasoned that though the period for filing a suit against the True-Dtac merger had expired, the court could still conduct a trial for public interest under Article 3 of the Administrative Court Procedural Act.

The lawsuit asks the court to revoke the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC)’s decision to acknowledge the merger as well as its December 4, 2022 directive that prescribes remedial measures for users of TrueMove and Dtac services.

The Supreme Administrative Court agreed with the five plaintiffs that the NBTC’s October 20, 2022, resolution acknowledging the merger between True Corporation and Total Access Communication (Dtac) would give the newly merged entity monopolistic power.

The two companies have decided to call the new company True Corporation, which already has a customer base of 55 million users, well ahead of AIS’s 45 million.

Under the merger conditions set by the NBTC, the new entity must retain True and Dtac brand names and continue providing services and promotions to their existing customers for three years.

However, the plaintiffs said this monopoly over the telecom market would give True the power to continue raising prices.

The Supreme Administrative Court said that considering these factors, it is clear that the merger could affect free and fair market competition and public interest. Hence, it said, the Central Administrative Court should accept the lawsuit for deliberation.

After this announcement on Monday, True’s shares slid by 1.89% to 7.80 baht apiece or down by 0.15 baht in the morning session.

Krungsri Capital Securities said the Supreme Administrative Court’s decision had clearly affected the sentiment of True shareholders, leading to the slide.

Last year, the Supreme Administrative Court also reversed its primary court’s decision to reject a lawsuit filed by the Foundation for Consumers on the grounds that the deadline had expired.

The Supreme Administrative Court used similar reasoning to order that the Central Administrative Court accept the lawsuit – that the planned merger may affect free and fair competition as well as have a widespread impact on consumers.