Antitrust watchdog blocks $11bn merger of Vodafone’s Australian business with TPG Telecom
Competition commission says deal would reduce rivalry in cellphone and fibre markets
Sydney — Australia’s antitrust regulator blocked a A$15bn ($11bn) merger between TPG Telecom and Vodafone’s Australian joint venture on competition grounds on Wednesday, knocking shares in the companies involved. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) rejection of a deal between Australia’s third- and fourth-largest telcos — accidentally uploaded earlier than expected — unravelled the prospect of combining TPG’s fibre and Vodafone’s mobile networks. Vodafone mainly runs a mobile-phone business in a joint venture with Hutchison Telecommunications (Australia) but has struggled with reliability, while TPG largely has an internet business with a low-cost reputation. The firms said they would contest the decision, but it heaps pressure on the growth plans of both, weighing especially on TPG to resume investment in a mobile network it quit in January. A deal would stop both from competing in each other’s markets, the ACCC had said in December, concluding on Wednesday...
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