ComCo: Sale of Orange Switzerland to Apax approved
The Competition Commission (Weko) has approved the planned sale of the mobile phone provider Orange Switzerland to the British private equity firm Apax. Weko considers the acquisition to be unobjectionable.
The change of ownership will not lead to any structural changes in market conditions, the competition authority announced on Friday following its preliminary review, according to SDA. Orange Switzerland was previously owned by France Télécom. After the Competition Commission, the Federal Communications Commission (Comcom) in Switzerland still has to give the go-ahead for the project. Just two weeks after the announcement of the sale of Orange Switzerland to Apax, the Board of Directors of France Télécom approved the deal. The board approved the sale price of CHF 2 billion.
Orange Switzerland is thus passing into the hands of the same holding company that indirectly controlled Sunrise until around a year ago. TDC, the former parent company of Sunrise, is now controlled by Apax.
