Brussels, 28 February 2023
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the creation of a joint venture by T-Mobile Austria Holding (‘TMAH’) and Meridiam Investment, both of Austria.
The joint venture will be active in rolling out a passive optical fibre infrastructure in designated areas in Austria and in offering access wholesale products to internet service providers. TMAH offers mobile telecommunications services and is ultimately controlled by Deutsche Telekom AG. TMAH also owns and operates a hybrid fibre-coaxial cable network in parts of Austria through which it offers cable TV, fixed internet and fixed telecommunications services. Deutsche Telekom AG is an integrated telecommunications and information technology service provider with activities worldwide. Meridiam Investment is a portfolio company controlled by Meridiam, an alternative investment fund manager focussing on long-term infrastructure investments.
The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns, given the absence of significant horizontal overlaps and vertical links between the companies’ activities in the relevant markets. 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.10993.
Source – EU Commission