UPC Switzerland buy goes to Swiss regulator
June 3, 2019
Sunrise’s planned acquisition of UPC Switzerland from Liberty Global is to be reviewed by regulator COMCO. Sunrise said the referral was ‘expected’.
COMCO said that its preliminary examination of the deal had revealed indications that the combination could create or reinforce a dominant position in different markets. COMCO said its investigation had also suggested that the merger could create or reinforce a collective dominant position between Sunrise and Swisscom in the high-speed internet and fixed telephony markets and the linear TV distribution market.
COMCO has four months to complete this phase II probe.
Sunrise and Liberty Global agreed the CHF6.3 billion (€5.6 billion) transfer of cable operator UPC Switzerland at the end of February.