Mergers: European Commission Approves Acquisition Of Radianz By BT

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of the US-based company Radianz, a financial services extranet provider, by BT Group plc. An extranet is a secure private network to share business information using internet technology in conjunction with the public telecommunications system. The Commission concluded that the acquisition would not significantly impede effective competition in the EEA or in any substantial part of it, as the parties’ activities do not overlap, and as there will be no negative impact either on the market for the provision of extranet services to the financial community or on the upstream global telecommunication services market.

BT, based in the UK, provides telecommunications services on a world-wide basis.

Radianz is a provider of extranet services to the financial community. Its shared infrastructure called RadianzNet enables financial firms to exchange information and execute trades over this secure extranet hub.

The Commission considered that there are no overlaps in the parties’ activities regarding extranet services to the financial community. In addition, entry is possible by alternative players. Moreover the Commission has concluded that the vertical integration would not lead to any harmful effects on the market for extranet services to the financial community and/or the upstream market for global telecommunication services (GTS), given the presence of alternative telecommunication operators in the UK and GTS providers world-wide. These alternative players ensure sufficient choice for third party competitors and prevent any negative effect on competition.