The EU is close to deciding whether Britain should be allowed to assume responsibility for ruling on the proposed merger of Liberty Global’s Virgin Media and Telefonica’s O2, Europe’s antitrust chief said on Monday, October 26.
According to Reuters, the companies last month sought European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager’s approval for their US$38 billion deal to better compete with market leader BT, prompting a request from Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority to take over the case on the grounds that the tie-up will be after Brexit and will mainly affect UK consumers.
“We are not completely done yet, but obviously it impresses upon us that we are in the last months before Brexit is supposed to happen,” Vestager told Reuters.
“We will factor that in when we decide on the request for a referral and we will do that quite soon.”
The EU antitrust enforcer has typically preferred to examine telecom mergers across the 27-country bloc to ensure a harmonized policy rather than hand over cases to national watchdogs, though it has done so in a few cases.
Featured News
Turkey Fines Meta $10.4 Million for Abusing Market Dominance
May 6, 2024 by
CPI
Canadian Watchdog Launches Inquiry into Lululemon’s Greenwashing Practices
May 6, 2024 by
CPI
Massachusetts Supreme Court Deliberates Ballot Redefining Gig Worker Status
May 6, 2024 by
CPI
European Commission Approves Nippon Steel’s $14.9 Billion Buyout of U.S. Steel
May 6, 2024 by
CPI
Banco Sabadell Rejects Rival BBVA Merger Proposal
May 6, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Economics of Criminal Antitrust
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Navigating Economic Expert Work in Criminal Antitrust Litigation
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
The Increased Importance of Economics in Cartel Cases
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
A Law and Economics Analysis of the Antitrust Treatment of Physician Collective Price Agreements
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Information Exchange In Criminal Antitrust Cases: How Economic Testimony Can Tip The Scales
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI