The UK’s Competitions and Markets Authority has submitted a request to the European Commission requesting the proposed merger between Liberty Global and Telefonica be submitted for investigation.
The European Commission was notified about the proposed merger by Liberty Global, which owns Virgin Media and Virgin Mobile, and Telefonica, which owns O2 on 30th September.
The CMA said it believes the case should be transferred given its potential impact on competition in several retail and wholesale telecommunication markets in the UK.
Andrea Coscelli, Chief Executive at the CMA, said: “We’ve sent a formal request to the European Commission to review the proposed deal between Virgin and O2.
“Ultimately, this is a decision for the EC, but as the merger will only impact UK consumers – and any effects would only be felt after the end of the transition period – it is only right for the CMA to request it back.”
The initial deadline for the EC to respond to the request is 19th November.
The two companies announced the planned merger in May, stating the combination of Virgin Media and O2 will create a nationwide integrated communications provider with over 46 million video, broadband and mobile subscribers and £11 billion of revenue.
