Competition Commission approves sale of Sunrise to CVC
Following a preliminary examination, the Competition Commission (ComCo) has no objections to the sale of Sunrise to CVC. There are no indications that the deal could change the structure of the Swiss cell phone market.
Following the sale of Sunrise to the Luxembourg-based financial investor CVC Capital Partners Group, there are still three providers in the mobile communications market. A certain dynamic remains in the competition. This was stated by the Competition Commission in a press release on Friday. An in-depth examination of the sale is therefore not necessary, according to the competition authorities.
CVC announced in mid-September that it would buy the subsidiary of the Danish TDC Group for CHF 3.3 billion. The Danes had acquired Sunrise around ten years ago and had been looking for a buyer for years. Plans to sell Sunrise to France Télécom and to merge it with its subsidiary Orange failed in early summer due to a veto by the Competition Commission. At the time, the ComCo wanted to prevent a duopoly with Sunrise/Orange on the one hand and Swisscom on the other.
Now the Federal Communications Commission Comcom and the Federal Office of Communications Bakom still have to give their blessing for the sale to CVC to go ahead, as Sunrise wrote on Friday. The decisions are expected to be published by the end of October. Comcom had already assessed the deal as positive.
CVC announced in mid-September that it would buy the subsidiary of the Danish TDC Group for CHF 3.3 billion. The Danes had acquired Sunrise around ten years ago and had been looking for a buyer for years. Plans to sell Sunrise to France Télécom and to merge it with its subsidiary Orange failed in early summer due to a veto by the Competition Commission. At the time, the ComCo wanted to prevent a duopoly with Sunrise/Orange on the one hand and Swisscom on the other.
Now the Federal Communications Commission Comcom and the Federal Office of Communications Bakom still have to give their blessing for the sale to CVC to go ahead, as Sunrise wrote on Friday. The decisions are expected to be published by the end of October. Comcom had already assessed the deal as positive.
