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Germany: Telefonica, KPN merger strains EU, state relations

By  |  September 15, 2013

The European Commission denied Germany’s request to review the proposed merger between telecommunications units Telefonica and Royal KPN, say reports.

The merger between the Germany companies will be reviewed by the European Commission and not state authorities, according to Commissioner Joaquin Almunia, who said the remarks at a conference in Italy last Friday. German regulators were looking to review the deal over concerns the transaction would leave Germany with only three major mobile providers.

Germany’s Federal Cartel Office argued last month the deal will only affect the German market and therefore should be reviewed by German authorities.

The $11.36 billion deal is part of widespread transformations of the telco market both within Germany and throughout the European Union as regulators prepare for a single, consolidated EU telco market.

Full Content: Bloomberg

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