CK Hutchison Wins EU Court Spat Over Long-Dead O2 Deal Veto

Stephanie Bodoni and Aoife White, Bloomberg News

A sign hangs from an 02 store, a unit of Telfonica SA's U.K. unit, in London, U.K., on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. Telefonica and John Malone's Liberty Global Plc have never been closer to finally creating the U.K.'s biggest telecom operator after flirting with various combinations over the years. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) --

CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. won a European Union court fight to overturn the EU’s veto four years ago of its bid for rival O2 that would have created the U.K.’s biggest mobile carrier.

In a ruling that could pave the way for more phone deals, the bloc’s General Court on Thursday toppled the European Commission’s 2016 merger ban citing numerous mistakes in the regulator’s analysis.

These include the failure “to show that the effects of the concentration on the network-sharing agreements and on the mobile network infrastructure in the U.K.” would have hindered competition significantly.

While the case is largely symbolic -- the companies have expressed no plans to resurrect the deal -- it’s one of a growing number of challenges to the EU’s merger review process. Regulators wield huge power to extract concessions from companies under threat of blocking a transaction they see as harmful to competition and likely to increase prices for consumers.

The ruling can be appealed. The commission in Brussels didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The case is: T-399/16 CK Telecoms UK Investments v Commission.