Latvia competition watchdog gives nod to Baltkom/IZZI tie-up

Latvian cablecos Baltkom and IZZI are to be allowed to merge by the country’s competition authority, Konkurences Padomes (KP), according to Telecompaper, citing local business news portal Nozare.lv. It is understood that the decision to allow the tie-up will be formally announced in the near future, and the report cites KP representative Inita Kabanova as specifying that there will be caveats governing the merger which would allow the watchdog to restrict the influence that the combined operator’s product offerings would have on its rivals. The Latvian wireline market’s largest operator by subscribers, Lattelecom, has meanwhile claimed that the tie-up will negatively affect competition in the pay-TV sector.