The European Commission approved the planned acquisition of Telenor Satellite Services by private equity group Apax Partners.
The Norwegian incumbent telecom company Telenor first revealed the sale of its subsidiary Telenor Satellite Services to Apax for $400 million in October of last year. The deal was awaiting regulatory clearance.
At issue was Apax’s other interests in the two-way satellite communications market. The group has indirect control of France Telecom Mobile Satellite Communications, and EU regulators determined that customers would continue to have sufficient alternatives if the deal were approved.