French govt appoints independent expert to monitor Canal Plus, TPS merger |
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Fri, 18 May 2007 18:49
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Paris (Thomson Financial) - French economy, finance and employment minister, Jean-Louis Borloo, has appointed independent expert Jacques Vistel to ensure that Vivendi's Canal Plus implements the 59 commitments it agreed to observe when it merged with satellite operator TPS.In a press release, France's competition and fraud regulator, the DGCCRF, said Borloo today approved the appointment of Vistel, who was nominated for the position by Canal Plus.Vistel will monitor the 59 commitments agreed to by Canal Plus to avoid any risk of unfair competition stemming from the merger of its satellite offering CanalSat with TPS.Vivendi Universal took a controlling interest in TPS -- previously owned by TF1 and M6 -- at the end of 2005, and subsequently merged it with its Canal Plus pay-TV unit.The merger was later cleared by the French government in 2006, after the owners agreed to meet 59 conditions related to antitrust issues.These include making some channels available to third party distributors and setting limits on ownership rights to French films.vicky.buffery@thomson.comafp/vb/lamCOPYRIGHTCopyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.
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