News
European Commission says it will rule on Netherlands merger application by 3 August.
Vodafone and Liberty Global have offered certain commitments to the European Commission in the hope of securing the green light for their planned merger in the Netherlands.
There are few details available at present. The Commission’s Website shows only that the pair made the submission on Tuesday and that the Commission has extended its deadline to issue a ruling in the case to 3 August.
The current European Commission has come down hard on proposed M&A deals in the telecoms sector, therefore it is no surprise that Vodafone and Liberty Global are looking to smooth the way.
Liberty Global was successful in gaining competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager’s approval for its takeover of Base in Belgium in February, having committed to selling off certain mobile brands to Medialaan, in addition to agreeing to provide the TV and radio station operator with wholesale mobile network access on favourable terms.
The concessions it has submitted with regard to the Netherlands merger could well be similar.
Vodafone and Liberty Global – which offers cable broadband and TV services in the Netherlands under the Ziggo brand – agreed to combine their businesses into a 50:50 joint venture in February.
Should it get the go-ahead, the deal will bring together the country’s second-largest mobile operator and its largest cableco, creating a stronger challenger to face incumbent KPN.
While the Commission’s antitrust arm has taken a tough stance when it comes to protecting competition, the M&A deals it has blocked in the past year have involved the merger of mobile operators; Telia and Telenor’s Danish merger plan and the acquisition of O2 by 3UK’s parent CK Hutchison being key examples. Both of those deals would have removed a facilities-based competitor from their respective mobile markets, unlike the Vodafone/Liberty Global plan.
That said, there are signs that it is possible to gain Brussels’ approval for a mobile tie-up.
Hutchison and VimpelCom have agreed to sell spectrum and network assets to France’s Iliad in a bid to get the OK for the merger of their Italian businesses, 3 Italia and Wind. Sources cited by Reuters earlier this week claim that a positive announcement from the Commission could be imminent.
