Cleary Gottlieb represented Verizon on the European antitrust aspects of its acquisition of MCI, which would create the second-largest telecommunications company in the United States. The European Commission cleared the proposed $8.4 billion transaction after a Phase I investigation without conditions.
Verizon formally notified the Commission of the transaction on September 2, after extensive pre-notification discussions. The Commission found that the Verizon-MCI merger would not give rise to competitive concerns in the three distinct markets assessed in the investigation: Internet Connectivity, Global Telecommunications Services, and International Voice Telephony Services.