Industry Updates

'SAMENA Daily' - News

EU approves Altice deal with Portugal Telecom

Brussels--Europe's competition regulator said it approved Luxembourg-based Altice SA's EUR7.4 billion ($8 billion) acquisition of the Portuguese assets of Portugal Telecom, after Altice agreed to sell its existing businesses in Portugal.

The deal, announced in November, was the latest acquisition for Franco-Israeli billionaire Patrick Drahi's international cable and telecommunications group. Altice, which previously had a small presence in Portugal via operators Cabovisão and Oni, will become a key competitor in the country, next to Vodafone Group PLC and NOS.

The European Commission, the European Union's top antitrust authority, said the deal as initially announced "could have led to higher prices for clients" because Altice may "have faced insufficient competitive constraint from the remaining players on the market for fixed telecommunications" in Portugal.

To assuage those concerns, Altice agreed to sell its current Portuguese businesses ONI and Cabovisão, the commission said in a statement Monday.

Margrethe Vestager, the EU's antitrust chief, said she had sought to "ensure that the merger will not lead to higher prices and less competition for Portuguese consumers."

"The commitments offered by the parties address this concern," Ms. Vestager said.

Mr. Drahi, who started building Altice from scratch during the 1990s by investing in underperforming cable companies, has made clear his ambition to expand the company in markets where it is present and combine fixed with mobile assets. Altice also has operations in Belgium and Israel.

Patricia Kowsmann in Lisbon contributed to this article.

Write to Tom Fairless at tom.fairless@wsj.com

Access Investor Kit for Vodafone Group Plc

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=GB00BH4HKS39

Access Investor Kit for Portugal Telecom SGPS SA

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=PTPTC0AM0009

Access Investor Kit for Vodafone Group Plc

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US92857W3088

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires



Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/eu-approves-altice-deal-with-portugal-telecom-2015-04-20

ATTENTION