A potential acquisition of UPC Romania by RCS&RDS, whichwould turn the new company into the owner of the biggest privatecommunications infrastructure and the undisputed leader of the TVand Internet markets could be under scrutiny by the CompetitionCouncil for as much as six months, and the authority might requireRCS to drop certain operations, the officials of Muşat &Asociaţii and Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen (NNDKP)told Ziarul Financiar.
"One may believe that there might be some chances of approval, butit depends on how and under what terms the deal will be approved,"says Georgeta Harapcea, competitive law practice manager withNNDKP. It all depends on the result of the Competition Council'sanalysis, "i.e. on whether the acquisition raises significantobstacles in terms of competition or whether, even though apowerful entity is created, there are enough current/potentialcompetitive constraints left, which this entity will have to face."Is it therefore possible for a merger that would create a playerwith more than 40% of the TV, fixed telephony and Internet marketto get CC's approval?
"CC may, for instance, agree only to a partial takeover of UPC'sbusiness by RCS&RDS, or condition it to the divestment ofcertain operations of RCS&RDS," Harapcea adds.
"Market shares in themselves are not indicative of a dominantposition but only of the possibility thereof. As such, they areonly the beginning of the analysis," explained Anca Buta Muşat,Muşat & Asociaţii partner in charge of the competitiondepartment.
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