The European Commission has given the green light to the proposed takeover by Syniverse of rival Mach – two leaders in roaming services – but has stipulated that the latter must sell off a significant part of its business to gain approval.

Following a review, the Commission said Mach must divest all its data clearing and near trade roaming data exchange services in the European Economic Area (EEA).

Syniverse of the US and Mach, which is a Luxembourg company, are the two largest providers of such services, both in the EEA and globally.

The US vendor announced its €550 million bid to acquire Mach in July, 2012

The Commission said that without its intervention, the proposed merger would have created a dominant player “with virtual monopoly market shares”.

Its concern was that a combination, without conditions, would have allowed Syniverse to raise prices or to decrease service quality.

Mach’s data clearing and near trade roaming data exchange businesses are the main assets that the commission say must be sold off.

The divestment must include physical infrastructure but also Mach staff and customers must be included in the package, so the business maintains credibility in the market. A range of customer contracts with “mid-sized and smaller MNOs” are also included.