BRUSSELS - EU antitrust regulators will decide by March 11 whether to allow CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd (HK:0001) and Vimpelcom (O:VIP) to merge their Italian mobile operations, marking the Hong Kong group's second European telecoms deal under EU review.
The two companies sought EU approval last Friday, according to a filing on the European Commission website.
The deal is expected to come under tough scrutiny because it will reduce the number of mobile players in Italy from four to three, a figure which regulators fear will lead to higher prices.
Hutchison, controlled by Asia's richest man Li Ka-shing, however could argue that the merged company will compete with two other equal size rivals Telecom Italia (MI:TLIT) and Vodafone (L:VOD).
Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman's LetterOne fund owns 47.9 percent of Vimpelcom's voting rights.
The Commission can either clear the deal, with or without conditions, or open a full-scale investigation if it has substantial concerns.
The EU competition enforcer last week warned Hutchison of the potential anti-competitive effects of its proposed 10.3 billion pound ($14.93 billion) bid for Telefonica's (MC:TEF) British business O2, which will also reduce the number of mobile network operators to three from four.
