The Spanish regulator CNMC has given the go-ahead to the first stage of MásMóvil’s acquisition of a 100% stake in Euskaltel.
In a statement, it says that MásMóvil is the fourth electronic communications operator in Spain, providing mainly fixed and mobile telephony and broadband internet services to residential customers or companies through its main brands Yoigo, MásMóvil, Pepephone, Llamaya, Lebara, Ocean and Lycamobile.
Meanwhile, Euskaltel is the fifth electronic communications operator in Spain. It has a particularly significant presence in Asturias, Galicia and the Basque Country where it has deployed its own fixed cable network (HFC) with wide coverage and in which it carries out its activities through its brands, Telecable, R Cable and Euskaltel. It has recently expanded its activities to the rest of Spain through the Virgin Telco brand.
It adds that in its view the transaction will not significantly alter the competitive situation. At the national level, MásMóvil will renew its position as the fourth operator in the retail markets; Euskaltel’s presence was still limited, so the addition of quotas will not be very significant. In the case of Asturias, Galicia and the Basque Country, where Euskaltel has a significant market share in the retail field and a strategy that presents differential aspects with respect to MásMóvil, there are other significant operators that will continue to exert competitive pressure.
In addition, CNMC does not envisage any major changes in the wholesale markets as a result of the transction.
As previously reported by Broadband TV News, MásMóvil made a cash offer for Euskaltel, valuing the latter at €2 billion, in March this year.
