Telecommunications giant Vodacom and converged network operator Neotel have two weeks to decide whether the proposed merger between the two companies would continue in an “amended” form or be abandoned altogether.

Following an eleventh-hour postponement of the Competition Tribunal hearings for the drawn-out R7-billion deal, Vodacom and Neotel unpacked a revised transaction structure to all involved stakeholders at a closed prehearing on Monday.

“The outcome of these discussions will directly impact the extent of the approval being sought from the tribunal and the scope of the tribunal hearing,” Vodacom explained in an update to the market on Monday.

The hearings had now been postponed indefinitely and the companies had until December 7 to inform the tribunal and intervening parties of their decision.

“If it is decided the merger will continue in an amended form, then new negotiations will be required to decide whether the hearing can continue as part of the present process,” the tribunal noted in a statement.

A second prehearing was set down for December 10 to determine how to proceed, as well as the process to mitigate the disputes that had now arisen over wasted costs in the matter.

The intervening parties had demanded compensation from Neotel and Vodacom for wasted costs, while the merging parties argued that the interveners were not entitled to costs.

Vodacom and Neotel applied for regulatory approval for the transfer of control of spectrum licences after Vodacom concluded an agreement with India-based Tata Communications in May 2014 for the full buyout of Neotel, whose employees would be absorbed into Vodacom’s fixed enterprise business.

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa gave its approval for the buyout in June, followed shortly thereafter by the Competition Commission’s conditional approval.

The proposed merger had drawn opposition from competitors in the sector over the unfair advantage the deal would provide Vodacom, which was already the dominant mobile operator in South Africa.