Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has initiated the second stage of its investigation into the proposed acquisition of Multimedia Polska by UPC.
In a statement it says: “The analysis of the application has proved that, in many towns and cities, the total share (of the pay-TV and internet access services market) held by UPC and Multimedia Polska exceeds 40% – the threshold for dominant position under competition law. It follows that there is a reasonable likelihood that concentration may lead to a significant restriction of competition; as a result, the present proceedings have been extended”.
It adds: “Pursuant to the amended act on competition and consumer protection, proceedings pertaining to concentration consist of two stages. The first stage of the proceedings takes up to one month; however, in particularly complex cases where there is a probability of a significant restriction of competition or where market research needs to be carried out, such proceedings may also last longer. The adoption of a decision on the extension of the deadline for the proceedings is by no means determinative of the ruling which may be given in the future”.
As previously reported in Broadband TV News, Liberty Global announced last October that it was to buy Multimedia Polska, Poland’s third largest cable operator, in a deal worth approximately $760 million.
An earlier deal in 2012, when it bought Aster, another leading Polish cable operator, took around a year to close with Liberty being eventually required to sell on some of its newly acquired assets to an independent third party.