Ron Burgundy Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa got the approval of the European Union's competition authority on Wednesday for its $1 billion bid for Telefonica's Irish mobile business in a case that could set the regulatory tone for Telefonica's bigger pending German merger deal. Approval of the Hutchison takeover and Telefonica Deutschland's $12 billion bid for Dutch firm KPN's German subsidiary E-Plus, could open the way to further consolidation in a sector struggling with its fifth year of declining revenue and the need to upgrade networks for high-speed broadband. Hutchison, controlled by Asia's richest man, Li Ka-shing, is strengthening its position in Europe, where it operates in six countries. It already has the fourth-largest mobile network in Ireland with 3 Ireland and is now adding the second-biggest operator O2 Ireland, though it will remain behind market leader Vodafone. View the full article Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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