The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of the Hellenic Company for Telecommunications and Telematic applications S.A. (known with the distinct name “Forthnet”) of Greece, by United Group B.V. of the Netherlands, the EC said in a statement on Friday.

Forthnet is a telecommunications operator, active in providing fixed and mobile telecommunication services, broadband internet and pay-TV services in Greece. Its pay-TV services are also offered, to a limited extent, in Cyprus. United Group is active in the provision of media and telecommunication services in South East Europe.

The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns, given the very limited increase in the merged entity's market position and the presence of several other players in the market for retail supply of pay-TV services, including with the use of the open internet (so called “over-the-top” services), in Greece. The Commission also found that the vertical relationship between the upstream markets for the wholesale supply of call termination services on mobile and fixed networks and the downstream markets for retail mobile and fixed telecommunications services, arising from the transaction, would be unproblematic, as the upstream markets are subject to ex ante regulation.

The transaction was examined under the normal merger review procedure.