The Swiss cartel office Weko will investigate the proposed merger between Orange Switzerland and Sunrise. The office suspects that the merger could lead to more significant market power in several mobile sub-markets. The merger would mean that the Swiss mobile market will have two instead of three players: Swisscom with 60 percent and Orange/Sunrise with 40 percent. Weko has four months to execute the investigation. In November 2009, France Telecom and TDC reached an agreement to combine their respective Swiss subsidiaries, Orange Switzerland and Sunrise. France Telecom will pay a net EUR 1.5 billion to TDC as part of the deal, which will see the French operator become a 75 percent shareholder in the combined entity and TDC holding the remaining 25 percent. The new operator will have approximately 3.4 million mobile and 1.1 million fixed and broadband customers, good for a 38 percent market share on the mobile market and 13 percent market share on the fixed broadband market.
