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Home Page > Archivio delle notizie > Notizia Commission clears the change of shareholders of OmnitelThe European Commission has cleared the operation by which Mannesmann and Bell Atlantic acquire joint control over Omnitel Pronto Italia (OPI). The operation is conditional on the exit of Olivetti from the shareholding of Omnitel if its bid for Telecom Italia is successful. After examination of the notification, the Commission has concluded that the operation does not raise serious doubts as to its compatibility with the common market and the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement. Mannesmann AG is active in sectors such as machinery construction, material handling, hydraulic and automotive technology, production of steel and tubes and in all the telecommunications field in general. Bell Atlantic is involved in the telecommunications and information sectors in the USA and some parts of Europe. OPI is one of the three operators currently licensed to provide mobile telephony in Italy. Its network covers 96 % of the Italian territory and has 6.5 million subscribers. There is no market in which the transaction would lead to the creation of market shares in excess of 15 %. At national level, since only OPI is active in Italy, with a market share of about 30%, the operation would not lead to an overlap between the parties. The Commission furthermore considers that any co-ordination between the parent companies as a result of the present operation would be insignificant. For these reasons, the Commission has decided not to oppose the notified operation and to declare it compatible with the common market, as it neither creates nor strengthens a dominant position nor leads to co-ordination between the parent companies of the joint venture
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