By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU antitrust regulators have paused their investigation into Liberty Media’s 3.5-billion-euro ($3.7 billion) bid for Dorna Sports while waiting for information from the companies, the European Commission said on Monday.
The EU antitrust enforcer opened a full-scale investigation in December, warning that the deal could push up prices for the licensing of broadcasting rights for motorsports events hosted by both companies.
Another leg of the investigation focuses on whether Liberty Media’s and U.S. cable company Liberty Global’s largest shareholder, John Malone, has decisive influence over both companies that may prompt Liberty Media to shut out rival broadcasters in Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands where Liberty Global is present.
The Commission, which had previously set a June 30 deadline for its decision, said it temporarily halted its investigation last Friday.
“The ‘clock’ in merger investigations can be suspended if the parties fail to provide, in a timely fashion, an important piece of information that the Commission has requested from them within a prescribed deadline,” a Commission spokesperson said in an email.
It will set a new deadline once the companies provide the requested information.
($1 = 0.9555 euros)
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
