EC ready to clear CK Hutchison move for Wind Tre (24 AUG 2018)

The European Commission (EC) will give the green light to CK Hutchison’s €2.45 billion deal to acquire Veon’s share of Italian joint venture Wind Tre, after the Hong Kong-based operator offered concessions.

Concessions include helping rival Iliad’s new unit in Italy, Reuters reported, and are apparently similar to those offered in 2016 when the venture was originally formed.

The JV came about via a merger of Wind, owned by Veon, and CK Hutchison’s 3 unit in Italy. To get the original deal through the EC in September 2016, the two agreed to sell assets to Iliad to provide the platform for its launch in Italy.

The EC opened an investigation into the latest deal in July and set a deadline of 31 August to announce its decision.

Once the deal is completed, CK Hutchison will be the sole owner of Wind Tre, a move the company said would give it a larger presence in an “attractive market”.

Iliad launched its Italian service in May, with an aggressively-priced opening deal leading to rivals slashing prices and boosting data allocations.