The acquisition of Telekom by Vodafone and Digi is in the final stages of internal discussions within the Competition Council, with the head of the authority announcing today that efforts are underway to reach an agreement for the takeover by Easter.
“The companies are in a hurry. Telekom is the most eager, as they want to sell, but they’ve been in a rush for two years. With all due respect and affection towards them, I understand their urgency, but at the same time, we also need to do our job properly. We must do it quickly, but first and foremost, we must do it well. We said we’d try after Easter. To make the decision after Easter, we need to reach an agreement with them before Easter, so that we can put it out for public consultation for a few weeks,” said the President of the Competition Council, Bogdan Chirițoiu on Tuesday, during a competition-related conference at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies (ASE).
The head of the authority emphasized that discussions are still needed with Orange, as well as with other smaller operators.
“We need to discuss with Orange, they’ve written to us, and there have been discussions with Orange, and smaller operators may also appear. Orange is interested in access to poles because they have infrastructure sharing agreements. We’re interested in what happens with the spectrum, service quality, ensuring that service quality doesn’t decline but actually improves, and investment plans. Concentration will increase because we’ll go from four operators to three, and we’re trying to mitigate that,” Chiritoiu pointed out.
The president of the Competition Council also mentioned that discussions are ongoing regarding imposing conditions for access to the network for mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs). “We’ll require them to give access to a third party if one appears and to see under what conditions,” Chirițoiu stated.
“I understand Telekom’s desire to leave, and that Digi and Vodafone want to do their job, but for us, the most important thing is to be satisfied with the solution, not just to meet the deadline. I’d like to do both. We’re trying to make the decision right after Easter, but I can’t guarantee it,” Bogdan Chirițoiu added.
At the end of last year, the Competition Council announced it is analyzing the transactions through which Vodafone Romania S.A. intends to take over Telekom Romania Mobile Communications S.A., and Digi Romania S.A. will take over certain assets of the same company.