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EU regulators say Hutchison offers concessions for 02 Ireland buy

Reuters - UK Focus

AMSTERDAM, March 5 (Reuters) - Hutchison Whampoa (Berlin: HUWA.BE - news) has offered concessions to counter European Union regulatory concerns about its proposed $1 billion bid for Telefonica (Madrid: TEF.MC - news) 's 02 Ireland (Other OTC: IRLD - news) unit, the European Commission said on Wednesday.

Hong Kong-based conglomerate Hutchison, controlled by Asia's richest man Li Ka-shing, is seeking to boost its position in Europe via a series of acquisitions.

Its latest takeover offer however has fueled regulatory worries that the deal, which reduces the number of mobile telephony operators from four to three in Ireland, may lead to higher consumer prices.

Hutchison offered concessions on Tuesday, European Commission spokesman for competition policy, Antoine Colombani, said, adding that the deadline for a decision on whether to clear the deal or not had been extended until May 19.

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A Hutchison spokesman declined to comment.

Hutchison is prepared to sell radio spectrum and continue a network sharing agreement with rival eircom's subsidiary Meteor, the third biggest operator in Ireland, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters last month.

Vodafone is the market leader in Ireland.

The Commission's decision is expected to show how tough it will be on a much bigger telecoms deal in Germany where Telefonica Deutschland wants to buy KPN (Amsterdam: KPN.AS - news) 's E-Plus unit for 8.6 billion euros.