The European Commission has referred Iliad’s proposed acquisition of certain SFR assets to the French authorities for review.
The deal involves the purchase of sole control of some assets of Société Française du Radiotéléphone (SFR) by Iliad S.A., with both companies based in France, the Commission said in a release on Wednesday.
The transaction relates to France’s mobile and fixed telecommunications sectors.
Iliad asked the Commission to transfer the merger review to France under Article 4(4) of the EU Merger Regulation — the EU’s rules for assessing whether mergers could harm competition.
Such referrals are possible when the merging companies argue a deal may significantly affect competition in a distinct market within a single EU member state and should therefore be examined nationally, the Commission said.
Case details
The Commission said it concluded the conditions for a full referral were met and therefore sent the case to France.
Further information is available in the Commission’s public case register under case number M.12511.
