By Tom Fairless and Ruth Bender
BRUSSELS--European Union regulators have suspended their review
of Orange SA's EUR3.4 billion ($3.62 billion) acquisition of
Spanish broadband and cellphone operator Jazztel SA for a second
time as they seek more information to help decide the case.
The move injects fresh uncertainty into a deal that would almost
double Orange's market share in broadband Internet access in Spain,
leapfrogging Vodafone Group PLC to become the country's
second-largest provider in that segment. Both companies trail the
market leader, Telefónica SA.
A spokeswoman for the European Commission, the bloc's top
antitrust regulator, said Thursday that "the clock has been
stopped" on the case since March 4. "Information is missing from
the file that we require before resuming the investigation," the
spokeswoman said.
Orange submitted commitments to the commission on March 6 aimed
at addressing its concerns around the deal, according to a
statement posted online.
The commission previously halted the merger review for a week in
January. Shortly afterward, it decided not to refer the case to
Spanish antitrust authorities, saying it was "better placed" to
deal with it.
Write to Tom Fairless at tom.fairless@wsj.com and Ruth Bender at
Ruth.Bender@wsj.com
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