The German antitrust authority has made a renewed request to the European Commission (EC) for permission to review Telefonica’s planned takeover of KPN’s German unit E-Plus.
Germany’s Bundeskartellamt sent a “reminder” to the EC asking that…
The German antitrust authority has made a renewed request to the European Commission (EC) for permission to review Telefonica’s planned takeover of KPN’s German unit E-Plus.
Germany’s Bundeskartellamt sent a “reminder” to the EC asking that it refers the €8.55bn (US$11.7bn) deal to the national competition regulator, a commission spokesperson confirmed.
This follows the EC’s decision to launch an in-depth, phase II investigation of the deal on 20 December in light of concerns it may reduce competition in the German markets for retail mobile telephony, wholesale access and call origination.
The commission has until 12 February to take a decision on the German authority’s “reminder” referral request, the commission spokesperson said. The EC’s provisional deadline for the phase II review is 14 May.
German authorities first asked the EC for permission to review the deal in November, saying that it would affect only the national market.
The EC, however, is concerned the deal – which would combine Germany’s third and fourth-largest mobile operators – may remove “an important competitive force” in the sector, potentially leading to reduced competition, higher prices for consumers, and fewer opportunities for MVNOs.
The EC said when launching the phase II investigation that it would examine factors including “how close competitors the parties are, the merged entity’s post-merger incentives to compete, the likely reaction of competitors and possible positive effects for consumers related, among others, to the rollout of 4G mobile networks”.
EU merger request rules entitle national regulators to remind the commission of an initial request to review a deal, even after it has launched a phase II investigation.
Telefonica’s German unit, which operates under the O2 brand, agreed to acquire E-Plus from its Dutch owner in August. O2 Germany CEO Rene Schuster has told media he expects the deal to get regulatory approval by Q2 2014.
Budeskartellamt was not immediately available for further comment.
