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Phase II investigation for Hutchison 3G’s bid for Orange Austria

By  |  July 1, 2012

The European Commission has opened a Phase II investigation into Hutchison 3G’s proposed acquisition of Orange Austria. The Commission is concerned by the effects the merger would have in the market for mobile telecom services to end consumers and the wholesale market for network access and call origination. The removal of Orange as a competitor leaves only two rivals for the merged entity: A1 Telekom Austria and T-Mobile. The further concentration of the market leaves the Commission concerned about the planned acquisition’s effect on prices for consumers.

Last week, the Austrian Competition Authority had announced an extension of its separate investigation into Hutchison’s sale of Yesss! to A1 Telekom Austria.

Full content: EC Press Release

 

Related content: Price Squeeze Abuse in the EU Telecommunications Sector: A Reasonably or Equally Efficient Test?

 

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