Brussels, 10 February 2023
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the creation of a joint venture by Proximus NV/SA and Ethias NV/SA, both of Belgium.
The joint venture, Glasfaser Ostbelgien – GO Fiber will roll-out and operate a passive, open Point-to-Point Fiber-To-The-Home network throughout the territory of the German-speaking Community of Belgium. The deployment and the operation of this network will constitute a service of general economic interest within identified areas of this territory. Proximus is active in fixed and mobile electronic communication services and networks for residential and business customers in Belgium. Ethias is a life and non-life insurance company, mostly active in Belgium.
The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns, because the revenues and the amount of assets of the joint venture will remain limited within the European Economic Area. The transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure.
More information is available on the Commission’s competition website, in the public case register under the case number M.10924.
Source – EU Commission