In February 2019, Liberty Global announced the sale of Switzerland’s leading cable operator, UPC, to the Swiss network operator Sunrise. The Swiss Competition Commission (WEKO) began examining the takeover of UPC by Sunrise in June of this year, and initial investigations indicated that the merger would create or strengthen a dominant position in various markets. Today, following the conclusion of the phase II investigation, it was announced that the acquisition has been cleared by the WEKO.

Oxera advised Liberty Global on regulatory clearance of the acquisition. On presentation of our analysis, WEKO concluded that the merger would be beneficial to consumers by providing an integrated telecoms provider. The acquisition creates a stronger entity in the market to challenge the current market leader, thereby enhancing competition.

Oxera worked alongside Liberty Global’s in-house Regulation and Competition Policy team (Melina Pappa, Michael Bryan-Brown, Cerry Darbon and Manuel Kohnstamm) and Homburger (Franz Hoffet and Richard Staueber).

Contact: Maurice de Valois Turk