The Federal Cartel Office, Germany’s antitrust regulator, is ready to approve the acquisition of Germany’s number three cable operator Kabel BW by US media giant Liberty Global, according to a Reuters report.
Citing a letter, Reuters said that the…
The Federal Cartel Office, Germany’s antitrust regulator, is ready to approve the acquisition of Germany’s number three cable operator Kabel BW by US media giant Liberty Global, according to a Reuters report.
Citing a letter, Reuters said that the cartel office agreed certain remedies offered by Liberty to secure clearance for the proposed takeover.
The report did not specify who the letter was sent to.
A Liberty spokesperson speaking to TelecomFinance only said that the company continues to be in a “constructive dialogue” with the regulator and that it is expecting a decision on 15 December. But the spokesperson added that Liberty remains confident the transaction will be cleared.
A spokesman for the regulator declined to comment, only saying that a decision would likely be made on 15 December.
In late November, Liberty, which already owns Germany’s number two cableco Unitymedia, “proposed important further structural improvements to the Unitymedia and Kabel Baden-Württemberg (KBW) business practices in response to the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) review of the intended acquisition of KBW.”
The remedies include proposals to provide unencrypted digital free to air TV, to waive any exclusivity in contracts with housing associations and to forego ownership rights of their in-building network.
