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EU approves Telefonica's acquisition of E-Plus(EFE Ingles Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Madrid, Aug 29 (EFE).- The German unit of Spain's Telefonica, Telefonica Deutschland, obtained final approval Friday from the European Commission to acquire smaller rival E-Plus, the German subsidiary of Dutch telecom company KPN. Telefonica said it plans to close the acquisition in the third quarter and soon will begin executing the necessary measures to finance the transaction. On July 2, the European Commission authorized the takeover after Telefonica Deutschland, which sells services in Germany under the O2 brand, pledged to sell up to 30 percent of the merged company's network capacity and offer to divest radio wave spectrum and certain assets to ensure adequate competition in the German market. Telefonica's German unit also committed to extending existing wholesale agreements with its and E-Plus' partners (mobile virtual network operators and service providers) until 2025 and offer wholesale 4G services to all interested players in the future. Telefonica reached an agreement with KPN to buy its German unit in an 8.6-billion-euro ($11.3-billion) transaction that included 5 billion euros in cash and the rest in stock equivalent to approximately 20 percent of the E-Plus-Telefonica Deutschland tie-up. The merger gives Telefonica 44 million mobile subscribers in Germany and lifts its share of Europe's biggest wireless market to around 30 percent. EFE apc/mc (c) 2014 EFE News Services (U.S.) Inc. |