The European Commission is likely to investigate UAE telecom major e&’s planned purchase of Czech PPF Group’s telecoms business in four countries.
The first anti-subsidy inquiry into foreign buyers of European Union assets is expected on Monday, the Financial Times reported, citing three informed sources.
Formerly known as Etisalat, e& finalised a €2.2 billion ($2.4 billion) deal in August 2023 to acquire a controlling stake in PPF Group’s telecom assets in Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia.
The investigation’s primary concern is that the Abu Dhabi-listed telecom operator may have received state funds, which constitutes “unfair subsidies”, to complete the asset purchase, the report said.
There are also worries that such state funding may enable e& to outperform EU telecom rivals.
The UAE company may argue that it has not received state support or subsidies to undermine competition in Europe, sources told the newspaper.
Last month, Bloomberg reported that e& ruled out buying out Dutch telecom operator United Group BV, which operates in Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Greece.
The UAE telco also owns a 14.6 percent stake in London-listed Vodafone.
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Last July e& confirmed it was planning to buy a stake in Ethio, a state-controlled operator in Ethiopia.
The company’s consolidated net profit rose to AED2.3 billion, up 7 percent year on year in 2023, as consolidated revenue reached AED14 billion, up 9 percent annually.