Economy - published on 15 April 2021
Source: European Commission Spokesperson’s Service
The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control of Tele Columbus AG of Germany by Morgan Stanley of the U.S. and United Internet AG of
Germany. Tele Columbus is a broadband cable network operator and a provider of fixed telephony, internet access and TV services in Germany. Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm.
United Internet is a globally active provider of telecommunications and internet access services. The Commission concluded that the proposed transaction would raise no competition concerns, given
that the vertical relationship between the upstream markets for the wholesale supply of call termination services on fixed networks and the downstream markets for retail mobile and fixed
telecommunications services, arising from the transaction in Germany, would be unproblematic, as the upstream markets are subject to ex-ante regulation. The transaction was examined under the
normal merger review procedure. More information is available on the Commission’s competition website, in the
public case register under
the case number
M.10163.
