Bulgaria's competition regulator announced last week that it granted approval to Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC), operating under the Vivacom brand, to become sole owner of local internet providers Net1 and ComNet Sofia, as well as Plovdiv-based operator N3.

The two notified transactions cannot significantly impede effective competition on the local markets of retail fixed Internet, pay-TV, and fixed-line telephone services, nor can they lead to the establishing or strengthening of a dominant position, the Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) said in a statement.

The regulator also noted that the newly merged group will have neither the ability nor the incentive to restrict effective competition in the vertically affected markets as there are alternative telecommunication operators able to exert effective competitive pressure on the consolidated group.

The financial parameters of the transactions were not disclosed.

In February, BTC announced that it will acquire N3 which offers digital TV and broadband internet access in Bulgaria's second-largest city of Plovdiv. Earlier the same month, BTC said that it will buy Net1 and ComNet Sofia in line with its strategy to offer single packages combining all telecommunications services its customers need.

BTC was acquired by Dutch-registered telecommunications services and media provider United Group last year. The company is also the new owner of Nova Broadcasting Group.