NZ's Sky, Vodafone hold off on cancelling purchase contract

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WELLINGTON, March 1 (Reuters) - Sky Network Television (Frankfurt: A0ETX2 - news) will not yet cancel its agreement to buy Vodafone's New (KOSDAQ: 160550.KQ - news) Zealand unit after the country's competition regulator rejected the proposal, the firms said.

The sale and purchase deal allowed either company to cancel if it had not been completed by Feb. 28, but both firms said in a stock exchange statement from Sky (Frankfurt: 893517 - news) they were not planning to terminate the contract.

The regulator last week rejected the transaction, citing concerns it would create a monopoly on premium sports content.

Sky could appeal the decision or re-work the arrangement and re-apply. The pay TV provider's chief executive John Fellet told Reuters at the time that all options were on the table.

The companies would wait until receiving the regulator's full written decision due out in about two weeks' time before making a decision.

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; editing by Andrew Roche and John Stonestreet)