Vodafone said it still expects to receive approval from the European Commission for the takeover of Liberty Global’s cable assets in Germany and eastern Europe in mid-2019, Bloomberg reports. This follows the Commission sending the companies a statement of objections on why the deal could harm competition, particularly in Germany.
Vodafone will review the statement of objections "and continue a constructive dialog" with the European Commission, it said. The company will be able to respond to the statement before the European Commission takes a final decision on the acquisition. A preliminary deadline for the decision has been set for 03 June, and this can be extended.
The European antitrust authority opened in December an in-depth investigation of the acquisition. The German cartel regulator also asked to look at the deal due to concerns about the impact on the local market of merging Unitymedia with Vodafone's existing cable and mobile business. The company can avoid the antitrust concerns by making an offer for a divestment of a unit or a change in its business behavior.
The German association of alternative operators Breko, the Federal Association of Fibre Optic Access (Buglas), the commercial broadcasters’ association Vaunet and Deutsche Netzmarketing (DNMG) have warned that the proposed takeover of Unitymedia by Vodafone would re-create a monopoly in the cable network market in Germany. Vodafone hopes to challenge Deutsche Telekom in the German market through the acquisition, with an increased fixed footprint and more bundled offers of fixed and mobile services.
