The Italian government has unconditionally approved Swisscom’s acquisition of Vodafone Italia, the Swiss telecoms company said in a statement on Tuesday.
To preserve Italy’s essential public interests, Rome has the right or “golden power” to veto stake building in strategic companies operating in sectors like defence, energy and telecoms.
The transaction “does not determine a threat of serious prejudice to national interests”, the Italian government said in a resolution received last week by Swisscom.
Swisscom said in March that it would buy Vodafone Italia for 8 billion euros ($8.7 billion) and merge the business with its Italian subsidiary Fastweb in the latest round of consolidation in Europe’s most competitive telecoms markets.
The deal will create Italy’s second-biggest fixed-line broadband operator behind TIM, with a strong presence in the prized business segment, and a leading player in mobile.
