Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has initiated the second stage of proceedings concerning the takeover of Netia by Cyfrowy Polsat.
In a statement, UOKiK says that the request for approval to take over Netia was submitted by Cyfrowy Polsat on December 21, 2017. The business ranges of both companies overlap in areas such as pay-TV access, mobile internet, and mobile telephony services.
UOKiK adds that in its opinion the undertakings operating in the market for pay-TV access compete with each other for clients, regardless of how they provide the service (in this case: Cyfrowy Polsat via DTH and Netia via cable). The consumer receives a comparable service, either way. However, in geographic terms, the market depends on the technology used. For satellite platform operators, this is in principle the national market, but for cable operators, the market is limited by the network coverage to the city or town area.
UOKiK says that it first has to verify shares of Cyfrowy Polsat, Netia and their competitors in local markets. Therefore, it must examine the market.
UOKiK concludes by saying that the commencement of the second stage of the proceedings is by no means determinative of the ruling that may be given in the future. Its president may approve the concentration, conditionally or unconditionally, or may prohibit the transaction.
As previously reported by Broadband TV News, Cyfrowy Polsat submitted a bid of PLN638.8 million (€151.9 million) last December to buy a 32% stake in Netia, Poland’s leading alternative telco.
