Telemach loses battle against Mtel, Competition Council of BiH rejects all appeals

SARAJevo, (Patria) - The Competition Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at its last session, made a series of decisions rejecting Telemach company's requests against Mtel, i.e. Telekom Serbia, reports BiznisInfo.

The Council rejected the requests to initiate a review of Mtel's acquisitions in BiH, namely the companies Telrad net, Blicnet, and Elta Kabel.

These are companies that Mtel acquired in previous years against Telemach's opposition, thereby practically taking over the entire competition in the Republika Srpska region.

In addition, Telemach's request to determine the abuse of dominant position by Arena sports channels in relation to the broadcasting of European, international, and domestic football leagues was also rejected.

Arena, as well as Mtel, are owned by Telekom Srbija, which is majority-owned by the state of Serbia. This group has had the most aggressive regional expansion in recent years with huge investments.

On the other hand, Telemach is part of the United Group, whose majority owner is the fund BC Partners based in London. This group also includes N1, Nova, and Sport Klub television channels. These two groups are engaged in a major regional conflict with both business and political backgrounds.