EC sets out objections to Three’s acquisition of 02

Hutchison Whampoa owned Three Ireland confirmed this morning that it has received a list of objections from the European Commission, setting out the concerns of the Commission in relation to Three's proposed €780 million acquisition of O2 Ireland. Three Ireland said it will respond with "strong and effective remedies to address the Commission's concerns".

In a statement, Three Ireland said that it was analysing the statement of objections, but that such a document was “not unexpected”, given the context of a Phase 2 merger investigation and the previous statements by the Commission that it would take a close look at in-country telecoms mergers going from four to three operators.

The acquisition of 02 would quadruple Hutchison’s share of the Irish market to 37.5 per cent, behind market leader Vodafone’s 39.4 per cent but ahead of rival Meteor’s 19.7 per cent.

The telecoms operator said that without Three’s acquisition of O2 Ireland and the scale it can achieve, the gap between one dominant player and three other operators, will only increase.

“Competition in Ireland will be better served by three credible operators with sufficient scale to compete for a total market of 4.6 million, than by the current market structure.”

Three Ireland said that its acquisition of O2 Ireland will provide it with the scale and financial strength necessary to “compete aggressively in the market to the benefit of Irish consumers”.

“ It will give Three the means to challenge the number one player in the Irish market by rolling out a state of the art 4G/LTE network and providing the best value and service to its customers.”

The EU watchdog has set an April 24th deadline for its decision. It can extend the review depending on when Hutchison submits concessions. The company can request an oral hearing in front of senior Commission officials to argue its case.