French competition regulator Autorité de la Concurrence on Aug. 30 granted unconditional approval to Cellnex Telecom SA's proposed acquisition of Iliad SA's mobile towers operator unit Iliad 7.
The watchdog ruled that the deal would not affect competition in France's market for mobile equipment hosting, since the combined entity's resulting market share would not exceed 40%. It also noted the existence of credible market competitors such as Altice France SA unit Hivory SAS and TDF Infrastructure SAS.
Under the transaction, Iliad will sell its mobile towers in France and lease them back from Cellnex Telecom.
The deal is part of the Spanish towers operator's acquisition of telecom infrastructure hosting activities for Iliad and its key shareholder in Switzerland. Cellnex Telecom unit Galata SpA agreed to acquire 2,200 mobile masts in Italy, Swiss Towers AG will acquire 2,800 mobile towers in Switzerland.
In May, Iliad agreed to sell its mobile towers infrastructure in France and Italy to Cellnex Telecom for €2 billion.
