Carphone wins EU approval for Tiscali UK buy

BRUSSELS, June 30 (Reuters) - British telecoms and retail group Carphone Warehouse (CPW.L) received approval from European Union antitrust authorities on Tuesday for its 236 million pound ($388 million) takeover of Internet service provider Tiscali UK [TISF.UL].

The European Commission, executive arm of the 27-nation European Union, said in a statement that the transaction would not impede competition.

It said that though Carphone Warehouse and Tiscali UK had overlaps in retail and wholesale Internet access provision as well as other services, the new entity would face competition from other strong players, especially British Telecom (BT.L).

"The Commission's examination of the proposed transaction showed that none of the above markets would give rise to competition concerns," the EU executive said.

The acquisition will make Carphone the biggest residential broadband provider in Britain, with 4.25 million users. It expects an immediate 10 percent boost to its earnings per share for its fiscal year to March 2010 following the takeover.

Carphone will fund the Tiscali UK buy, which excludes debt, from its existing facilities.

Italian group Tiscali has said it would use the proceeds from the sale to restructure its debt. Double click on the newslinks below for the relevant topics:

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