IP/04/652
Brussels, 18 May 2004
Commission clears merger between UPC and Noos
The European Commission has today cleared the proposed acquisition of French cable operator Noos by UPC, itself a cable company ultimately owned by Liberty Media. The operation raises no competition concerns.
On 4 April 2004, the Commission received a notification whereby UPC will buy Noos from the French group Suez.
UPC and Noos are two cable operators active in France in a number of markets, notably pay television, acquisition of television content, Internet, telephone and telecommunications infrastructures. France Telecom Cable and NC Numéricable, (part of the Vivendi Group) are the other two operators in the French cable market, which is largely underdeveloped, and competes with other technologies, like satellite, terrestrial and ADSL transmission modes, for the provision of television, Internet and telephony.
Although the operation will give UPC the number one spot in the French cable pay-TV market, it will command a modest share of the overall pay-TV market, compared with Canal+, the country's leading pay-TV company, and even TPS, the other main satellite pay-TV operator in France. As regards the Internet and telephone services, France Telecom will also remain the uncontested market leader.
On a more narrow definition of the market, that of cable pay-TV, the Commission found that UPC would face sufficient competition from NC Numéricâble and France Telecom Cable not only because of their noticeable presence in the cable pay-TV market, but also because of their strong presence in neighbouring markets like TV content providing, satellite and ADSL pay-TV, Internet and telephony.
The Commission found that there was also no risk that TV channels broadcasters would be excluded from cable TV and that the combination of UPC and Noos may on the contrary offer opportunities for cable TV penetration to expand in France.
Background
UPC is part of UnitedGlobalCom (UGC), a leading international broadband communications provider of video, voice and Internet services, with operations in 14 countries. UGC is itself controlled by Liberty Media, an international media, entertainment, technology and communications company. Noos is presently owned by Suez, which is progressively divesting its media assets in France.
The transaction takes place at a time when French telecommunication and media regulation is being revised and made easier for cable operators, which so far had to obtain individual licences from local municipalities and could not serve areas of more than eight million inhabitants.