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Germany: Telefonica bargains for E-Plus buy

By  |  June 25, 2014

Telefonica just struck an agreement with competition in Germany in efforts to secure regulatory approval for its acquisition of Royal KPN’s Germany operations.

According to reports, Spain’s Telefonica agreed to divest network capacity to Drillisch if the European Commission approves the plan to acquire E-Plus. Under terms of the sale, Drillisch would acquire 20 percent of the total capacity Telefonica would hold following the merger; Drillisch does not have its own network.

Telefonica was reported to be in similar discussions with other German mobile operators Freenet and United Internet, but sources say those talks have ended.

The Commission was rumored last week to be planning an approval of the $12 billion transaction, though no formal clearance has been given. Telefonica announced its agreement with Drillisch on Wednesday and said it expects a decision by EU authorities some time next month.

Full content: Bloomberg

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