Swisscom Offers New Solutions for Fastweb-Vodafone Deal
Swisscom has presented a new series of proposals to address concerns raised by Italy's competition authority regarding the merger plan of Fastweb, a subsidiary of the authority, with Vodafone (LON: VOD)'s assets in Italy. The aim of these proposals is to obtain the necessary approval for the €8 billion deal to proceed.
Swisscom's plan to acquire Vodafone Italia and merge it with Fastweb has been under scrutiny since the Italian competition authority AGCM initiated a detailed review in September. The authority noted that the merger could lead to a reduction in competition in Italy's fixed-line wholesale and retail service markets, affecting residential, public administration, and corporate customers.
In response to feedback received from a hearing on October 25, Swisscom offered a revised concession package at the end of October. This second set of proposals includes providing competitors access to Fastweb's fiber infrastructure, allowing them to offer connectivity services to their corporate and public administration clients.
Swisscom also proposed sharing key information to maintain a fair competitive environment in public tenders for telephony and connectivity services that the merged entity would have a contract for. Additionally, Swisscom committed to maintaining existing wholesale agreements that allow competitors to offer ultra-fast fixed internet to residential customers. Alongside these measures, Swisscom indicated its openness to appointing an independent monitoring trustee to ensure the implementation of these solutions.
Competitors had until November 4 to provide their feedback on the proposed solutions. The Italian competition authority is currently reviewing the new proposals, with two individuals close to the matter confirming that the evaluation is ongoing. AGCM is expected to complete its in-depth analysis by December 10. Swisscom aims to finalize the agreement with Vodafone in the first quarter of next year. Both Swisscom and Vodafone, as well as AGCM, have declined to comment on the ongoing process.