Vodafone Questions AdC Conditional SonaeCom/PT Merger OK

LISBON -(Dow Jones)- Vodafone's Portugal unit on Friday said it's against the conditional approval of the merger between Portugal Telecom and SonaeCom granted by Portugal's antitrust authority Autoridade da Concorrencia, or AdC.

Vodafone Portugal is the third operator in the country, after Sonaecom's mobile unit Optimus and PT's mobile unit TMN, and stands to be most affected, as the merger would create a company with a mobile communications market share of more than 60%.

"Vodafone Portugal disagrees and regrets the antitrust regulator's conditional approval of the SonaeCom/PT merger in the proposed framework," the company said in a statement. The AdC's conditions pack, disclosed late Wednesday, include SonaeCom's disposal of either its cable or fixed-line unit, as well as allowing a new operator and mobile virtual network operators, or MVNO, in the mobile business.

However, it will allow merging Sonaecom's mobile unit Optimus with TMN.

"It does not make any sense to introduce a strict and artificial set of rules in the mobile sector, to justify the creation of a company with a dominant position," Vodafone's statement adds.

Sonaecom made an unsolicited EUR9.5-a-share bid for its larger rival Portugal Telecom in February, valuing the company at EUR11.1 billion.

-By Filipa Cunha, Dow Jones Newswires; +351-21-3191863; filipa.cunha@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires"

Posted to the site on 29th September 2006