Local.ch and Search.ch: Weko takes a close look
The Weko is conducting an in-depth review of the merger between Local.ch and Search.ch, as the merger could result in a dominant market position.
The Merger of the internet platforms Local.ch and Search.ch could lead to the subsidiary jointly owned by Swisscom and Tamedia assuming a dominant position in address directories in future. This is the conclusion reached by the Competition Commission. The Federal Competition Commission (ComCo) will therefore examine the merger of the two directory services in greater depth, as the authority announced on Tuesday. According to the Competition Commission, the examination of how the planned merger is likely to affect competition in address directories will be carried out within four months.
Following the takeover of Publigroupe by Swisscom, the telecommunications group and the media company Tamedia would like to merge their address directory businesses. To this end, they are planning to merge Local.ch and Search.ch into a joint subsidiary. Swisscom will hold 69 percent of the share capital and Tamedia 31 percent. They justify the merger of the two directory services with the need to make their businesses more competitive in the area of address and contact data searches in order to be able to compete with Google. Swisscom definitively took over Publigroupe in September. The "blue giant" put 475 million Swiss francs on the table for this (Werbewoche.ch reported). (SDA)
