The European Commission has cleared CK Hutchison's acquisition of its partner Veon's 50 percent stake in the Italian operator Wind Tre. The only condition for the merger approval was that Hutchison take responsibility for implementing the conditions imposed by the EC in 2016 when Wind Tre was formed.
The Commission said the competitive situation on the Italian market had not changed since its reviewed the merger in 2016, apart from the conditions imposed that led to the creation of the new fourth mobile operator, Iliad Italia. As a result, Hutchison's acquisition of 100 percent of Wind Tre should not impact competition on the market, as long as it adheres to the original remedies. These include the completion of spectrum transfer and site divestment and the implementation of the national roaming agreement until Iliad's network is fully rolled out.
Hutchison announced in July the agreement to buy Veon's 50 percent stake for EUR 2.75 billion. The company said it expects to complete the acquisition on 07 September.
