Vivendi’s Telecom Italia Takeover Wins Conditional EC Approval

The European Commission (EC) has approved Vivendi’s plan to take control of Telecom Italia, subject to certain conditions.

The approval is conditional on the divestment of Telecom Italia’s stake in Persidera. Telecom Italia provides voice and data services through mobile and fixed technologies, digital content services and IT services to enterprises. Through its subsidiary Persidera—a joint venture with Gruppo Editoriale L’Espresso—it is also active in the market for the wholesale access to digital terrestrial networks for the broadcast of TV channels.

The EC found that post-transaction, Vivendi would have had an incentive to raise prices charged to TV channels in the market for wholesale access to digital terrestrial TV networks, where Persidera and Mediaset each hold a significant share. As a result, TV channels would have found it more expensive to reach their audiences in Italy.

The EC also investigated whether the relationship between Vivendi’s activities in Italy in advertising, music, TV and mobile gaming and Telecom Italia’s activities in fixed and mobile telecommunications raised competition concerns. The Commission concluded that Vivendi would not have the ability or incentive to shut out other competitors from the relevant markets.

In order to address the competition concerns, Vivendi would need to divest Telecom Italia’s stake in Persidera.