UAE telecoms giant e& Group has offered concessions to address the European Union’s (EU) concerns that it may be benefiting from distorting foreign subsidies in its bid for some assets of Czech telecoms company PPF, EU competition regulators stated on Monday.
The action by e&, previously known as Etisalat, follows a month after the European Commission initiated an investigation into an unlimited guarantee from the UAE and a loan from UAE-controlled banks that directly supported the deal.
The EU executive, acting as the competition regulator for the 27-country bloc and using its powers under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), stated it had enough indications that e&’s foreign subsidies distort the EU internal market.
“We can confirm that remedies were submitted and that the new legal deadline is December 4,” a Commission spokesperson said in an email without providing details.
The previous deadline for a decision on whether to approve or block the deal was October 15.
e& did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The FSR, which came into force last year, permits the EU to target unfair foreign state support to companies acquiring EU businesses or participating in EU public tenders.
