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Initially agreed in August, the $7.5 billion takeover has now been given the green light
No conditions were dictated by the Swiss competition watchdog as it approved the takeover of Sunrise by Liberty Global earlier today.
“Like Swisscom, UPC/Sunrise will have its own mobile and fixed network infrastructure. There is no threat of eliminating effective competition,” noted the regulator.
The Swiss Competition Commission (WEKO) noted that coordination between Swisscom and Sunrise would cause concern, but since such partnerships cannot be assumed there was no imminent threat to sector competition.
The €7.5 billion deal is set to create the second biggest player in the Swiss telecoms market, with many hoping that the move will lead to a real challenger for the dominance of Swisscom.
When the deal was first announced back in August, Liberty Global’s chief executive Mike Fries said that the logic of the merger was “undeniable” and would help drive competition and innovation.
Just yesterday Liberty Global said that 96.48% of Sunrise’s share captial has now been tenderred. The deal is set to finalise in mid-November.
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