The European Commission plans to take another look at the merger of Telefonica Germany and E-Plus, WirtschaftsWoche reported in its online edition, citing sources from the companies involved and from the commission. The new probe concerns Telefonica's agreement to hand one fifth of its network capacity and up to 600 shops to Drillisch, which was intended to remedy the commission's concerns about the merger. The commission now wants to look into whether the agreements with Drillisch are enough to ensure competition on the German mobile market.
WirtschaftsWoche said United Internet and Freenet had agreed contracts at the same time and were ready to sign them, but were pipped to the post. It said United Internet in particular had complained several times to the commission. WirtschaftsWoche said it had obtained internal United Internet memos saying that some of Telefonica's negotiations seemed to have been held only for the sake of appearances. However, United Internet declined to make any comment to WirtschaftsWoche on the topic. The company also says with 1.9 million customers, Drillisch is in no position to play a major role in the sector.
