European Commission extends Liberty/BASE review
As Liberty Global nears its “put up or shut up” deadline to formalise an offer for Caribbean telco CWC, European authorities need more time to review its first-ever mobile network acquisition.
Europe’s antitrust body has extended its review of cableco Liberty Global’s (NASDAQ:LBTYA) €1.3bn (US$2.4bn) acquisition of Belgian mobile operator BASE from its Dutch owner, KPN (AMS:KPN).
The European Commission (EC) has given itself an additional two weeks, postponing its 3 March deadline to 17 March.
Last week, the US-backed cableco offered a second set of concessions, following the EC’s decision to launch an in-depth, Phase II review. The EC is now awaiting views from the market before proceeding further.
Liberty offered its first set of concessions in September, days after TeliaSonera and Telenor scrapped their agreed Danish mobile joint venture due to EC opposition.
While the new Commission’s stance on mobile consolidation appears to have hardened, it did approve Orange’s acquisition of Spanish landline player Jazztel, albeit with considerable remedies.
As part of its deal with KPN, Liberty has agreed to pay a €100m (US$113m) break fee in the event that the EC does not approve the deal.
Proximus is the country’s largest mobile carrier, followed by Mobistar and Base.
