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EU: Commission poised to clear Hutchison Ireland buy

By  |  January 22, 2014

Sources say the European Commission is set to approve of the planned acquisition of Telefonica’s O2 Ireland by Hutchison Whampoa after reaching a deal to have Hutchison aid in the formation of a fourth wireless rival.

According to reports, Hutchison, based in Hong Kong, is now working with Liberty Global’s Irish operations UPC to help the Internet and TV services group introduce wireless operations as a mobile virtual network operator.

The Commission launched its merger review into the $1 billion deal following concerns Hutchison’s acquisition would reduce the number of competitors in the market. Along with UPC’s new services, reports say Hutchison has also agreed to a network sharing deal with third-place operator Meteor.

The Commission declined to comment on the matter, but sources say the deal will be cleared as soon as Hutchison’s talks with UPC conclude.

Full content: Reuters

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