Decision Nº M/06/084 from Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, 2006-12-18

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Parties: Plusnet plc,British Telecommunications plc
• Date: 18 December 2006
• Decision Number: M/06/084
• Decision Date: 18 December 2006
• Court: Commissioner for Environmental Information

Merger Notification M/06/084– BT/PlusNet

DETERMINATION OF MERGER NOTIFICATION M/06/084 –

BT/PLUSNET

Section 21 of the Competition Act 2002

Proposed acquisition of PlusNet plc by British

Telecommunications plc

Dated 18/12/06

Introduction

1. On 27

th

November 2006 the Competition Authority (“the

Authority”), in accordance with Section 18(1) of the Competition

Act, 2002 (“the Act”) was notified, on a mandatory basis, of a

proposal whereby British Telecommunications plc (“BT”) would

acquire the entire issued shares of PlusNet plc (“PlusNet”). As a

result of the proposed transaction, PlusNet will become a wholly

owned subsidiary of BT.

The Undertakings Involved

2. BT, the acquirer, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc (“BT

Group”). BT encompasses virtually all of the business and assets of

BT Group. BT’s business is divided into four activities:

• BT Retail: provision of electronic communications services to

business and residential customers;

• BT Wholesale: operation of B T's networks and provision of

network services and solutions to other communication

companies;

• BT Global Service: BT's global managed services and

solutions provider and serving multi-site organisations

worldwide; and

• Openreach: a new business line that has been created to

own, maintain and develop the access network which links

homes and businesses to the networks of the UK's

communications providers.

In the State, BT operates mainly through its wholly-owned

subsidiary, BT Telecommunications Limited (also known as BT

Ireland). BT Ireland provides telecommunications products and

services (voice, data and internet) to domestic and corporate

consumers. For the financial year ended M arch 2006, BT generated

turnover of [..] million in the State.