Telefonica Deutschland (O2) has further improved its remedy package in an effort to persuade the European Commission (EC) to clear its planned takeover of German mobile operator E-Plus.
The tweaked package is based on feedback from the first market…
Telefonica Deutschland (O2) has further improved its remedy package in an effort to persuade the European Commission (EC) to clear its planned takeover of German mobile operator E-Plus.
The tweaked package is based on feedback from the first market test, a company spokesperson for the German unit of Spain’s Telefonica group said.
He declined to provide further details as the filing of remedies and related market tests are not-public parts of the merger clearance process.
The European antitrust authority is conducting an in-depth phase II review of the deal and is said to have given third parties until Monday 5 May to comment on the modified package. The commission’s final deadline is 23 June.
O2 remains confident the deal will be cleared this quarter and close in mid-2014, the spokesperson said.
O2 last submitted improved remedies for the deal in early April, which were said to include helping to establish a fourth mobile operator in Germany and leasing it higher-frequency spectrum. The company is also said to have offered to allow up to three MVNOs to access its network at wholesale rates and to sell 10,000 cell sites and 50 urban shops.
The deal would reduce the number of players in the German mobile market from four to three and, as such, the antitrust review is being closely watched throughout the EU, with many predicting an approval could trigger a wave of consolidation deals.
