BRUSSELS: EU antitrust regulators will decide by March 11 whether to allow CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd and Vimpelcom to merge their Italian mobile operations, marking the Hong Kong group's second European telecoms deal under EU review.
The two companies sought EU approval last Friday, according to a filing on the European Commission website.
The deal is expected to come under tough scrutiny because it will reduce the number of mobile players in Italy from four to three, a figure which regulators fear will lead to higher prices.
Hutchison, controlled by Asia's richest man Li Ka-shing, however could argue that the merged company will compete with two other equal size rivals Telecom Italia and Vodafone.
Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman's LetterOne fund owns 47.9 percent of Vimpelcom's voting rights.
The Commission can either clear the deal, with or without conditions, or open a full-scale investigation if it has substantial concerns.
The EU competition enforcer last week warned Hutchison of the potential anti-competitive effects of its proposed 10.3 billion pound ($14.93 billion) bid for Telefonica's British business O2, which will also reduce the number of mobile network operators to three from four.
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