EU Extends Deadline for U.K. Mobile Phone Merger Review
November 06 2015 - 10:38AM
Dow Jones News
By Tom Fairless
BRUSSELS--Europe's top antitrust regulator has extended by a
month its deadline for reviewing Telefonica SA's $14 billion sale
of British cellphone operator O2, a week after opening a full-blown
investigation into the deal.
The move by the European Commission is common in complex
mergers, and aims to give the parties more time to convince
regulators that the deal is unproblematic, or discuss potential
remedies, such as asset sales.
In a statement published on its website, the commission said it
had extended the deadline for the review by 20 working days, to
April 18, 2016. The regulator has until that date to investigate
the proposed acquisition and to decide whether to approve it, or
ask the companies for concessions to ease its concerns. If it fails
to reach an agreement on how to bring the acquisition in line with
EU competition rules, the commission can also decide to block the
merger.
The commission opened an in-depth investigation last Friday,
warning that the sale of O2 to Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing's CK
Hutchison Holdings Ltd. would create the largest mobile-network
operator in the U.K., potentially removing an important
competitor.
Britain's telecom regulator Ofcom also expressed misgivings
about the merger, warning in a statement that it could lead to
higher prices and reduced customer choice.
Natalia Drozdiak contributed to this article.
Write to Tom Fairless at tom.fairless@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 06, 2015 10:23 ET (15:23 GMT)
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