Global law firm White & Case LLP has achieved a significant success for Deutsche Telekom (DT) before the European Commission (EC), which has unconditionally approved the acquisition of Tele2 NL by DT subsidiary T-Mobile Netherlands.

The expanded company will have an anticipated annual revenue in excess of €2 billion, with around 4.3 million mobile post-paid subscribers. The clearance decision follows an in-depth Phase II investigation, which the EC opened in June to assess the proposed acquisition. This type of merger is known as a four-to-three merger, and the Commission tends to subject these to a high level of scrutiny.

“At the beginning of this process, we faced an uphill battle due to the track record of four-to-three mergers in the telecoms sector, but we took heart from the Commissioner's statement that each case is different and defended our case vigorously at an oral hearing,” said Brussels-based White & Case partner Mark Powell, who co-led the Firm's team. “The Commission has shown great maturity in taking this decision based on the very specific features of this case. Above all, Dutch consumers will benefit from the efficiencies generated by the merger, which have been translated into the specific promises to consumers.”

Brussels-based local partner Katarzyna Czapracka, who co-led the Firm's team, said: “We are very pleased with the outcome, which is the result of a huge team effort and the creative approach of DT's in-house team. It's also a good example of how well we understand this rapidly evolving sector, and can put that knowledge to use for our clients.”

The White & Case team was led by partner Mark Powell and local partner Katarzyna Czapracka (both Brussels), with support from local partners Alexandra Rogers and Jérémie Jourdan (both Brussels), and associates Cornelius Börner, Marika Harjula, Guoda Majauskaite (Brussels), Iwo Malobecki and Jolanta Brogowska (both Warsaw).