Bulgaria's Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) said on September 7 that it had approved the sale of a 50 per cent stake in mobile operator Vivacom's rebroadcasting subsidiary NURTS to Dubai-based Bluesat Partners.

In July, Vivacom said it would sell its remaining 50 per cent stake in NURTS for 57 million euro.

The regulatory decision paves the way for the formal completion of the deal. NURTS will be now equally owned by Bluesat Partners and Cyprus-registered Mancelord Limited, which bought the other 50 per cent stake in the company about a year ago. Mancelord is represented in Bulgaria by Bromak, the majority owner of local Corporate Commercial Bank.

Following the approval, cellular operator Mobiltel said in a statement to the CPC that the infrastructure operated by NURTS is important for the work of telecommunications operators. As such, Mobiltel considers that the transfer of ownership to the new owner would lead to legal uncertainty about network access as Vivacom's obligation to use the facilities owned by NURTS would be abolished.

"This may result in negative effects on competition and create insurmountable barriers for the implementation of activities concerning joint use of locations, facilities and towers," Mobiltel said.

Mobiltel has offered CPC to oblige NURTS to keep the terms and prices on existing contracts, sign joint use agreements with telecommunication companies and present a plan for the development of its infrastructure.

The watchdog, however, rejected Mobiltel's concerns and its proposals, saying that should the access of customers to the network be limited, the commission would investigate.