A PYMNTS Company

EU: Telefonica’s Germany plans to face probe

By  |  December 19, 2013

Sources said Spain’s Telefonica will likely face an investigation by the European Commission regarding the company’s plans to merge its Germany unit with Royal KPN’s E-Plus.

    Get the Full Story

    Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.

    yesSubscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today.

    By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

    The probe will focus mainly on frequency allocation in Europe’s largest wireless market, the sources said; the Commission is set to announce a probe Friday, though is reportedly not against the idea of reducing Germany’s main wireless players from four to three. The competition concerns arise regarding a company the size of the would-be merged companies and its power to acquire too much spectrum.

    Plans to take spectrum away from Telefonica and KPN in Germany and set it aside for smaller rivals could significantly harm the value of such a merger, reports say. The deal is estimated to be worth $7.5 billion.

    Reports say the Commission will also decide Friday whether to hand the case over to state regulators.

    Full Content: Bloomberg

    Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.