The German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) told TelecomFinance that it will issue a statement of objections (SO) to Kabel BW and Liberty Global later this week. The document will outline the regulator’s views on the proposed acquisition of cableco Kabel BW…
The German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) told TelecomFinance that it will issue a statement of objections (SO) to Kabel BW and Liberty Global later this week. The document will outline the regulator’s views on the proposed acquisition of cableco Kabel BW by the US media giant.
The parties will then be given the opportunity to comment on the SO.
In the meantime, Liberty and Kabel BW have offered concessions aimed at easing regulatory concerns over the deal.
A decision on the takeover was originally scheduled for 11 November but was pushed back to 15 December late last week.
Liberty Global agreed in March to acquire number three cableco Kabel BW for E3.16bn (US$4.4bn) from private equity firm EQT.
The proposed merger had initially been notified with the European Commission, but was referred to the Cartel Office soon after due to the impact of the transaction on the German market.
Receiving antitrust approval has previously been described as tricky by experts, given Liberty’s strong presence in the market – the company already owns German number two cableco Unitymedia – and negative merger decisions by the FCO in the past.
The German authority blocked the merger of cable operators KDG, Ish, Iesy and Kabel BW in 2004.
