EU regulators to rule on Viasat's Inmarsat takeover by Feb. 13

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators will decide by Feb. 13 whether to clear U.S. company Viasat's $7.3 billion takeover of satellite rival Inmarsat, a European Commission filing showed on Monday.

The deal is already the target of an in-depth investigation by the UK competition watchdog, concerned that it could block competition in the aviation connectivity market and potentially result in airlines facing higher prices for on-board Wi-Fi.

The EU antitrust enforcer can either clear the deal with or without remedies or it can open a full-scale investigation if it has serious concerns about the tie-up.

The companies compete with market leaders Panasonic and Intelsat in the market for in-flight Wi-Fi on long-haul flights.

Viasat offers connectivity services to residential, aviation and defence customers in North America while Inmarsat's clients include the shipping and aviation sectors as well as government departments.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by David Goodman)