The European Commission has formally rejected a request by the Dutch antitrust regulator to review the proposed sale of Dutch cableco Ziggo to Liberty Global.
The decision had been expected because EC antitrust commissioner Joaquin Almunia had shown his…
The European Commission has formally rejected a request by the Dutch antitrust regulator to review the proposed sale of Dutch cableco Ziggo to Liberty Global.
The decision had been expected because EC antitrust commissioner Joaquin Almunia had shown his opposition to the request in April already, when speaking to reporters in Brussels.
In a statement today, the EC said that the Dutch competition authority is “not better placed to examine the transaction because of the commission’s experience in assessing many mergers in the converging media and telecommunications sectors, the presence of Liberty Global in 12 countries of the European Economic Area (EEA), and the need for a consistent application of the merger control rules.”
Deadline for the ongoing phase II investigation is 17 October 2014.
