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EU: European Court overturns EC approval of UPC-Ziggo merger

By  |  October 26, 2017

The European General Court has overturned the European Commission’s approval of the merger between Dutch cable operators UPC and Ziggo. The court said the Commission in 2014 did not sufficiently look at competition on the market for premium TV content. Liberty Global, the owner of UPC, had at the time also its own TV channels. The appeal was filed by the cable operator’s’ main rival, KPN.

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    The consequences of the ruling are not yet clear. The EC’s decision has been annulled, but that does not mean the merger will be nullified. The merger between UPC and Ziggo has already taken place and since been followed by a joint venture with Vodafone Netherlands.

    “It is now up to the European Commission to decide what they will do with it”, said spokesman Stefan Simons.

    The Commission, which can appeal against the ruling at the European Court of Justice, said it would “carefully analyse” the judgement.

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