Brit competition cops fast-track £2B borging of Netomnia into Openreach challenger
Liberty Global, Telefónica, and InfraVia have grand designs on the UK fiber market
Britain's competition watchdog wants to cast a close eye over the proposed takeover of Substantial, owner of Netomnia, by a consortium that includes Virgin Media O2 owners Liberty Global and Telefónica.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has referred the acquisition for an in-depth investigation under its fast-track procedure at the merging parties' request.
It notified the parties earlier this week that it was launching an inquiry, and today's decision means it is fast-tracking the case to Phase 2 rather than conducting a full Phase 1 assessment.
The inspection will determine whether it would lead to a "substantial lessening of competition" in the market for fiber broadband networking.
The deal was announced in February, when Liberty Global, Telefónica, and InfraVia disclosed their intention to snap up Substantial Topco Limited (Substantial) in a transaction that valued it at...
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