OFT wants a look at the Orange T-Mobile merger

THE BLIGHTY Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has asked the EU to hand over some of its investigative files on the Orange and T-Mobile merger.

The OFT is a little concerned about the effects the merger will have on the UK market. It has said so far that the joint venture threatens to significantly impact competition in mobile telecommunications in the UK.

The OFT yesterday made a request to the European Commission (EC) to refer the UK aspects of the proposed joint venture between Orange UK and T-Mobile UK to it.

According to an OFT spokesman, if the EC agrees then OFT intends to examine the proposed joint venture with a view to deciding whether it should be referred back to the Competition Commission for an in-depth investigation.

Mergers that initially fall within the jurisdiction of the EU Merger Regulation may be referred to the UK to be examined by the OFT under the Enterprise Act. µ