Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom have offered to dispose of some assets in order to secure regulatory approval for the merger of T-Mobile and Orange in the UK.
According to reports the two European incumbents would be willing to sell off part of their…
Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom have offered to dispose of some assets in order to secure regulatory approval for the merger of T-Mobile and Orange in the UK.
According to reports the two European incumbents would be willing to sell off part of their combined radio spectrum in an attempt to avoid an elongated investigation by UK regulators.
The operators are also planning to offer network sharing guarantees that will negate concerns about endangering competition in the UK market.
The European Commission is understood to be in consultation with the other UK mobile operators to judge whether these compromises will be deemed satisfactory.
The Office of Fair Trading has asked the European Commission for the chance to examine the UK aspects of the deal, which is set to create the UK’s largest mobile operator.
If Brussels approves the referral the OFT will have the chance to decide whether to refer the merger to the Competition Commission for an in-depth investigation which could significantly delay and possibly even scupper the deal.
