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Switzerland: Regulator approves online directory merger

By  |  March 24, 2015

Switzerland’s competition commission WEKO said on Tuesday it had approved the purchase of online directory search.ch by Swisscom, as the telecoms group tries to compete with the likes of Google in digital advertising.

In a deal reached last year, Swisscom is to combine directory operator local.ch, which provides information on phone numbers, with Swiss media company Tamedia’s search and information service search.ch in a joint subsidiary.

Together the local online directories will reach 3.6 million internet users per month in Switzerland, and the merger will be completed by mid-2015, the companies said in a joint statement.

“Although the fusion results in a monopoly, we are not blocking the plans because we don’t expect them to restrict competition,” WEKO said in a statement.

 

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