Spain’s telecoms regulator CNMC has sent a request to the EU’s competition authority for permission to rule on Orange’s proposed takeover of Spanish broadband operator Jazztel, reports Europa Press. On 16 September Orange offered EUR 3.4 billion in cash to acquire 100 percent of Jazztel’s shares, a transaction that would enable the French group to move ahead of Vodafone into second place in the Spanish fixed broadband sector. If the deal goes through, 90 percent of the Spanish telecoms sector would be controlled by three operators – Telefonica, Orange and Vodafone – after the latter finalised its EUR 7.2 billion acquisition of broadband provider Ono earlier this year. However, the Spanish regulator didn’t request permission to probe the Vodafone-Ono deal, which was left to the EU’s anti-trust authority due to the value of the transaction and its Community-wide implications.
The CNMC’s decision to request permission to rule on the deal goes against Orange’s wishes, which wanted EU regulators to probe the offer, according to unnamed sources cited in El Economista. The report also indicates that the EU will extend the deadline to issue a decision on Orange’s takeover of Jazztel from 20 November to 04 December after receiving the CNMC’s request.
