Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of sole control of #WindTre by #Hutchison, subject to conditions

The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation Hutchison's acquisition of sole control of Wind Tre, currently controlled by Hutchison and VEON. Wind Tre was created in 2016 from the combination of the activities of VimpelCom's (now VEON) subsidiary WIND with those of Hutchison's subsidiary H3G, respectively the third and fourth largest operators in the Italian retail mobile market. The Commission cleared the 2016 transaction because its concerns were fully addressed through effective structural remedies offered by Hutchison and VimpelCom. The Commission's review of Hutchison's acquisition of sole control over Wind Tre found that the new transaction does not alter the existing competitive situation resulting from the first transaction and did not identify any further competition concerns. However, the Commission concluded that, should the remedies cease to be implemented, the new transaction would raise the same concerns identified by the Commission in the 2016 clearance decision. To address these concerns, Hutchison has offered to assume full responsibility for complying with the commitments submitted jointly with VimpelCom (now VEON) in 2016. The Commission concluded that the proposed transaction, as modified by the commitments, would no longer raise competition concerns. The decision is conditional upon full compliance with the commitments. Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: "Today's decision confirms that the structural remedies accepted by the Commission in order to clear the creation of Wind Tre in 2016 were effective. They have not only preserved but also incentivised competition in the mobile telecommunications market in Italy. It is important to ensure full implementation of those remedies so that Italian consumers can continue to enjoy high quality mobile services at fair prices." The full press release is available online in EN, FR, DE and IT.

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