European Commission rejects UK's bid to probe Hutchison/Telefonica deal

The European Commission has decided not to refer the planned acquisition of Telefonica’s O2 unit by Hutchison to the UK competition authority.

The UK Competition and Markets Authority had argued that it was more qualified than the EU regulator to look into the bid, which would create the biggest mobile operator in Britain by merging Three UK with Telefonica's O2.

However, the EC said on Friday that given its extensive experience in assessing cases in this sector, it was better placed to deal with the transaction and ensure consistency in the application of merger control rules in the mobile telecommunications sectors across the European Economic Area.

The EC added that it will continue to cooperate closely with the UK competition authority in the assessment of the case.

The regulator has until April of next year to make a final decision on the deal, which it launched an investigation into on 30 October.