en.Wedoany.com Reported - Brazil's National Telecommunications Agency (Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações, Anatel) has revoked the authorization previously granted to Plintron to enter the controlling group of Surf Telecom. The authorization had been approved on November 16, 2025, through Ordinance No. 18.217/2025 and Resolution No. 323/2025, but the two companies had already become embroiled in judicial disputes prior to that.

The revocation order, issued this Thursday (30th), reinstates Resolution No. 327/2023, which had previously denied Plintron do Brasil Participações e Investimentos entry into Surf Telecom's board of directors.

The direct cause of Anatel's shift in stance was a judicial reversal. Late last year, the agency, in compliance with provisional court rulings, allowed Plintron to take control of Surf. Subsequently, Brazil's Superior Court of Justice (Superior Tribunal de Justiça, STJ) overturned those preliminary injunctions, returning the decision-making authority to Anatel. With the final say back in its hands, the Anatel board reaffirmed its original position: the transaction poses a risk to service provision.

Surf serves nearly 2 million customers. Surf had requested the revocation of the authorization on the grounds that the deadline had passed, but Anatel dismissed this argument. The agency stated that the authorization was revoked solely because the judicial orders had lost effect, and the authorization issued in 2025 became void the moment the STJ took over the case.

The case has now returned to its 2023 starting point, with Anatel closing the door on the deal after determining that the transaction was detrimental to the industry. Plintron had sought to suspend the agency's review pending a new appeal before the STJ, but that request was denied. With room for further judicial appeals still available, the battle over this transaction is not yet over.