BRUSSELS (Reuters) – French telecoms operator Iliad <ILD.PA> on Tuesday won EU antitrust clearance for its 3.5-billion-euro ($4.14 billion)acquisition of Polish mobile group Play <PLY.WA> as it stepped up its overseas expansion.
The European Commission’s decision published on its website confirmed a Reuters story on Oct. 14.
Iliad, Europe’s sixth-largest mobile operator, is controlled by French tycoon Xavier Niel and is present in Ireland and Italy.
Polish No. 1 mobile operator Play competes against Orange Polska <OPL.WA>, Deutsche Telekom’s <DTEGn.DE> T-Mobile and Polkomtel, a unit of Cyfrowy Polsat <CPS.WA>.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
