United Group’s Vivacom has firmly rejected allegations made by its competitors A1 and Yettel in Bulgaria.
It says that “their statements in response to the decision by the Bulgarian Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) to grant clearance for Vivacom to acquire two cable operators, Networx and Telnet, are irresponsible and contain several wildly inaccurate and misleading allegations”.
Vivacom goes on to say that “the Bulgarian fixed broadband and pay-TV market is a healthy multi-player environment, with three national operators and hundreds of regional and local market players. Vivacom currently holds 31% of the fixed broadband market and 33% of the pay -V market in Bulgaria (based on the number of subscribers). The fixed broadband market share of A1 and regional and local market players is 28% and 35% respectively, and Vivacom continues to face strong competition in relevant regional markets including northern Bulgaria.
“By comparison, elsewhere in Southeast Europe, Deutsche Telekom holds over 60% of the fixed broadband and pay-TV market in Croatia and over 50% in Greece (via its controlling stakes in local incumbents). It is noted that A1 has not raised concerns about its dominant position in Austria where it has almost 50% of the country’s broadband subscribers. Neither have A1 nor Yettel made any complaints in Serbia where United Group’s operator (SBB) has been consistently denied the entry into mobile market.
“The co-ordinated statements from A1 and Yettel are misleading and inconsistent with the CPC’s findings. Their joint attempt to include Bulsatcom as part of Vivacom’s market share is wholly inaccurate and shows evidence of collusion”.
Vivacom also says it has continued to gain market shares in 2022 and 2023 organically by providing innovative products and a superior customer experience. Since entering Bulgaria less than three years ago, United Group has invested BGN3.5 billion (€1.79 billion) in the country.
Discussing CPC decision, it adds that the regulator “reviewed Vivacom’s cases with an exceptional level of scrutiny, conducting a forensic analysis of the facts, resulting in a comprehensive 104-page decision. The level of detail in the CPC enquiry is unprecedented in Bulgarian competition matters and more than meets best practice for countries in the European Union. Vivacom has actively cooperated with the review and has responded to over a dozen questionnaires sent by the CPC. It has also submitted detailed reports on both transactions prepared by NERA Economic Consulting, a leading international expert in merger control”.
Vivacom concludes by saying that its focus remains on providing a superior customer experience and innovative products to the Bulgarian population.
