The European Commission opened an in-depth investigation on Friday 10 May into Telia Company's proposed acquisition of Bonnier Broadcasting, fearing that the transaction would harm competition in the audiovisual sector in Finland and Sweden.
Both companies are located in Sweden. As a retail television distributor, Telia Company licenses TV channels from TV broadcasters, including Bonnier Broadcasting. The latter owns TV channels in Sweden and Finland that are important for TV distributors to have in their packages.
The proposed transaction, as notified to the Commission on 15 March last, would create a vertically integrated player in the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish audiovisual sectors.
The initial market investigation carried out by the institution revealed certain problems. In particular, it appears that the acquisition could exclude some of Telia Company's competitors from access to certain Bonnier Broadcasting television channels and from access to advertising space on the future entity's channels. And the latter could also deny access to its streaming application to customers using competing mobile and fixed internet providers. As a result, Finnish and Swedish consumers may face reduced choice and higher prices for retail cable TV.
Despite commitments offered by Telia Company on 12 April, the Commission considered that they did not dispel its concerns. The institution has until September 19 to issue its decision. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)