Within concentrated markets and with overlapping operations, the competition authority is concerned the deal could risk raising retail prices as well as incentives for coordination
The merging parties overlap in seven separate retail markets
On 16 March 2026, the Slovenian Competition Protection Agency (SCPA) issued a decision confirming that it had launched an in-depth investigation into the proposed acquisition of T-2 by United Group-owned Telemach, identifying “serious suspicion” that the deal would not comply with national competition law. The SPCA has identified a horizontal overlap in the activities of the merging parties in seven separate markets:
Retail mobile telephony;
Retail fixed telephony;
Retail fixed broadband access;
Retail fixed broadband internet access;
Retail linear TV;
Retail non-linear TV; and
Retail bundled services.
As part of the in-depth review, the SCPA will also examine the potential vertical effects that could arise as a result of the transaction due to links between the individual markets in which the two parties operate. The investigation will take place – and conclude – amid the EC’s review of the EU’s horizontal and non-horizontal merger guidelines, which is not expected to be completed until Q4 2027.
The deal would further concentrate the mobile market, while putting Telemach/T-2 in a dominant position in fixed telephony
According to the SCPA, the retail mobile market is already highly concentrated, which would intensify with the merger of Telemach and T-2. Telekom Slovenije is currently the market leader, followed by Telemach and then A1, with T-2 (which only offers postpaid services) the fourth largest operator. By reducing the number of operators from four to three, the SPCA considers that the deal would likely create an incentive for increased retail prices while reducing the scope for MVNOs to change their host network. Similar concerns have been raised by other European competition authorities (including the EC) in previous in-market mobile mergers, often requiring structural remedies in order to grant approval. In the retail fixed telephony market, data from AKOS (Slovenia’s telecoms regulator) shows that Telemach has the highest and an increasing market share, while T-2 – the third largest operator – is also growing its share of subscribers. The acquisition would therefore put Telemach in a dominant position, which would significantly impede effective competition due to the loss of competitive pressure (from the reduction in the number of operators) and the increased possibility of unilateral conduct by the merged entity.
The SPCA is concerned by the downstream impact of reduced network-level competition in broadband
The proposed acquisition would also result in a significant change in the structure of the country’s retail fixed broadband market, including by reducing the number of parallel networks, which the SPCA considers would significantly weaken infrastructure competition. According to data from AKOS, Telemach has the highest shares of the retail fixed broadband and fixed broadband internet access markets, which are growing compared to Telekom Slovenije – the second largest operator by number of connections. In the SPCA’s view, T-2 (the third largest player) is an important driver of competition in the telecoms sector and that its acquisition by Telemach could enable the merged entity to act to a greater extent independently of its competitors, business partners and end users. Based on the information collected, SCPA concludes that there is a likelihood of the creation or strengthening of a dominant position, which could therefore lead to a significant impediment to effective competition (SIEC) in Slovenia.
There may be the risk of tacit collusion among the smaller number of remaining operators
In addition to unilateral effects, the SPCA considers that the deal would also increase the risk of coordinated effects, which may arise when the post-merger market structure enables or facilitates “tacit concerted conduct” between the remaining operators, which would ultimately harm consumers. The SPCA’s preliminary analysis shows that all relevant retail markets are already highly concentrated and would change significantly after the acquisition, being primarily composed of three players (the merged entity, Telekom Slovenije and A1), in addition to several significantly smaller operators with limited market power. While the SPCA believes that such a market structure would “enable more stable market conditions”, it considers that the deal raises serious doubts about its compliance with competition law. The SPCA’s in-depth review will examine the relevant product, service and geographic markets in more detail, and it has called on stakeholders to provide information (backed up by evidence) that could help it reach a final decision.
