The European Commission Monday approved the purchase of PT Portugal by French group Altice, subject to divestment of its current Portuguese businesses Oni and Cabovisão, according to a statement issued in Brussels.

The Altice group had already announced it was willing to sell those two companies to obtain approval from Brussels for the deal that will allow it to lead the Portuguese telecommunications market.

In addition to approvals from regulators, the sale of PT to Altice is still dependent on the general meetings of PT bondholders scheduled for 4 and 19 May intended to transfer bonds in PT to Oi (as Altice wants to buy PT without debt).

The Commission also said it had rejected a request for the analysis to be carried out by the Portuguese Competition Authority.

The Portuguese regulator considered it was in a better position to analyse the deal as it had more in-depth knowledge of the Portuguese market, an argument that Brussels rejected. (macauhub/PT)