Iliad wins EU antitrust okay for $4 billion Polish telecoms deal

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – French telecoms operator Iliad on Tuesday won EU antitrust clearance for its 3.5-billion-euro ($4.14 billion)acquisition of Polish mobile group Play as it stepped up its overseas expansion.

The European Commission’s decision published on its website confirmed a Reuters story on Oct. 14.

Iliad, Europe’s sixth-largest mobile operator, is controlled by French tycoon Xavier Niel and is present in Ireland and Italy.

Polish No. 1 mobile operator Play competes against Orange Polska , Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile and Polkomtel, a unit of Cyfrowy Polsat .

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)