German Court Blocks Unitymedia-KabelBW Merger

DUSSELDORF: A German court has reversed an approval by the country’s cartel office for Liberty Global’s acquisition of KabelBW.

The Dusseldorf Higher Regional Court has overturned the antitrust clearance, siding with Deutsche Telekom, which challenged the deal’s approval. The regulator must now review the merger again and assume a new position, unless this ruling is overturned on appeal.

The reason cited by the court is that the conditions placed on the deal by the cartel office weren’t sufficient to prevent Unitymedia and KabelBW from having a dominant position in the marketplace if they merge.

Liberty Global bought KabelBW, which is Germany’s third-largest cable operator, in March 2011 for around $4.19 billion. Two years earlier, Liberty Global purchased Unitymedia, Germany’s second-largest cable operator.

Unitymedia has said it will appeal the ruling at federal court.