EU's Vestager says Denmark needs fourth telecoms operator

FLORENCE, Sept 11 (Reuters) - The EU's antitrust chief said on Friday that Nordic telecom operator TeliaSonera (Amsterdam: 1087941.AS - news) and Norwegian peer Telenor (Oslo: TELFUT.OL - news) had not done enough to allay her concerns that their planned Danish merger would damage competition there.

"What we were looking at were very serious concerns. To me it was necessary to have a fourth mobile operator," European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager told reporters on the sideline of a conference in Florence.

"That was discussed with the parties. It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) seems as if the remedies were not sufficient.

The two telecoms operators said on Friday they had dropped plans to merge their Danish units as they could not agree terms with Europe's competition regulator.

Asked if she was preparing to block the deal, Vestager said: "We were on the road."

She (Munich: SOQ.MU - news) also said there should be no conclusions drawn from this case on Hutchison Whampoa's merger bids in Italy and Britain, both of which she will examine in the coming months. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)