The European Commission (EC) has opened an antitrust probe into Hutchison Whampoa’s plan to acquire Orange Austria for EUR1.3 billion..

The EC is looking at the deal amid concerns that the removal of a competitor would harm competition, with the number of mobile players in Austria reduced from four to three. Orange Austria is currently owned by France Telecom and Mid Europa Partners.

“The commission must make sure that this concentration does not lead to higher prices for end consumers,” said EU competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia in the statement. 

Hutchison put out a statement saying that it remains confident that the EC will approve the deal and that its acquisition of Orange Austria would benefit customers.

The Austrian Federal Competition Authority is also looking at Telekom Austria’s planned acquisition of Orange Austria’s discount Yesss brand, a deal which is seen as critical in the successful conclusion of the Hutchison-Orange Austria merger.

Hutchison’s 3 Austria is the smallest operator in Austria and competes with Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile, Telekom Austria’s A1 and Orange Austria. According to Wireless Intelligence figures, the acquisition of Orange Austria would boost its market share significantly but still leave it slightly behind T-Mobile and A1.