Telefonica is reportedly in talks with German MVNOs as it seeks to come up with concessions to convince the European Commission (EC) to clear its planned €8.55bn (US$11.7bn) takeover of E-Plus from Dutch telco KPN.
Telefonica asked the operators,…
Telefonica is reportedly in talks with German MVNOs as it seeks to come up with concessions to convince the European Commission (EC) to clear its planned €8.55bn (US$11.7bn) takeover of E-Plus from Dutch telco KPN.
Telefonica asked the operators, including Freenet, Drillisch and Liberty Global’s Unitymedia KabelBW, whether they would be interested in obtaining access to its wireless network and boosting their hardware for things such as billing and data transmission.
Telefonica is also talking to United Internet about granting it wholesale access to faster internet speeds, Bloomberg said with reference to two people familiar with the matter.
Telefonica Deutschland, United Internet, Freenet and Unitymedia have declined to comment on the matter, while Drillisch was not immediately available.
Telefonica submitted improved remedies for the deal in early April which were said to have included helping to establish a fourth mobile operator to replace E-Plus. However, due to a lack of interest, the focus of the EC investigation is said to have shifted toward improving the competitiveness of MVNOs.
Germany has a well-established MVNO market and Telefonica Deutschland CEO Markus Haas has argued that there is no indication the merger would make it less robust.
The EC has extended its phase II review of the deal, which would reduce the number of mobile network operators in Germany from four to three, several times. The deadline is now 10 July.
The commission approved Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa’s takeover of 02 Ireland last week on the condition that it paves the way for two new Irish MVNOs, with an option to give on spectrum, and continues its network-sharing deal with incumbent Eircom. The clearance of the €850m (US$1.16bn) deal, which combines Ireland’s second and fourth largest mobile players, has been seen as a positive for four-to-three telecoms consolidation in Europe. However, the E-Plus deal, if approved, is considered to be the most likely to trigger similar consolidation deals across the continent.
