Emirates Telecommunications (e&), whose majority shareholder is the government of the United Arab Emirates, signed an agreement worth €2.15 billion to buy the assets of Czech group PPF Telecoms in Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia in August 2023.
In June, the Commission launched an investigation into the planned acquisition to establish in particular whether e&'s bid was supported by foreign subsidies.
Brussels has stepped up its scrutiny of foreign investment in the bloc, and the probe was the first under new rules allowing it to tackle unfair foreign subsidies.
The commission concluded that aid granted to e& in the form of grants, loans and unlimited state guarantees "did not lead to actual or potential negative effects on competition," it said in a statement.
However, it found that the subsidies risked distorting competition in the EU's internal market after the deal and as a result secured a number of concessions.
The Emirates Group has agreed to waive unlimited state guarantees and not to finance PPF's activities in the EU's domestic market - with the exception of certain emergency financings with prior approval from Brussels. | BGNES
