The acquisition of Austrian cable operator UPC Austria by T-Mobile Austria, a subsidiary of German telco Deutsche Telekom, seems to have raised regulatory concerns at the European Commission.
T-Mobile Austria has offered concessions in the merger case currently under review by the European Commission, according to an update of EU mergers and takeovers. The Brussels competition authority has therefore extended the deadline from June 25 to July 9, 2018.
T-Mobile Austria wants to purchase UPC Austria, the country’s largest cable operator, for around €1.9 billion from parent company Liberty Global.
Through the acquisition announced on December 22, 2017, the mobile network operator would gain a strong foothold in the fixed-line market, enabling it to offer quadruple play products to its customers: TV, internet, fixed-line telephony and mobile services.
The move would also put Austria’s second-largest mobile network operator in a position to intensify competition with market leader A1 Telekom Austria.
