Play Communications SA

Iliad SA added a record number of users to its French fiber broadband network in the third quarter in a boost to sales, and said it expected a less severe slowdown under a second wave of lockdowns.

French telecoms operator Iliad <ILD.PA> on Tuesday won EU antitrust clearance for its 3.5-billion-euro ($4.14 billion)acquisition of Polish mobile group Play <PLY.WA> as it stepped up its overseas expansion.

Barcelona-based cellphone mast operator Cellnex agreed with Iliad to buy a 60% stake in the cellphone tower unit of Play, a Polish telephone company the French operator is in the process of taking over, Cellnex and Iliad said on Friday.

French telecoms operator Iliad is poised to secure EU antitrust clearance for its 3.5 billion euro ($4.11 billion) takeover of Polish mobile group Play <PLY.WA>, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

EU antitrust regulators are expected to clear French telecoms operator Iliad's 3.5 billion euro ($4.11 billion) takeover of Polish mobile group Play, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Orange Polska and Cyfrowy Polsat are launching auctions for Polish telecommunications infrastructure assets as they seek to free up cash for investment elsewhere, people close to the matter said.

EU antitrust regulators will decide by Oct. 26 whether to clear French telecoms operator Iliad's 3.5-billion-euro ($4.1 billion) bid for Polish mobile group Play, a filing on the European Commission's website showed on Tuesday.

European stocks posted their worst fall in three months on Monday as fears of a second wave of COVID-19 infections hit travel and leisure shares, while banks tumbled on a report about $2 trillion (1.56 trillion pounds) worth of suspect transfers by leading lenders.

Iliad's move to buy Polish mobile group Play in a $4.2 billion deal got a cool reception from investors on Monday as the French company already faces heavy investments in France and Italy.

Poland's planned criteria for assessing the risk of telecoms equipment providers are political and may be aimed at excluding Huawei [HWT.UL] from developing the country's 5G network, the Chinese company said on Wednesday.

Polish mobile operator Play Communications <PLY.WA> is considering selling some of its network infrastructure, a source familiar with the process told Reuters.

Poland's Cyfrowy Polsat said on Friday its Polkomtel unit will launch Poland's first commercially available 5G network in seven cities from Monday.

Poland risks missing the European Union's target for rolling out 5G in 2020, the telecoms regulator said on Wednesday, a day after officials said the spectrum auction would have to be restarted from the beginning.

Poland will have to re-launch the process of allocating 5G spectrum, suspended earlier this month due to the coronavirus, to avoid the threat of legal challenges and after changes to its telecoms law to beef up security, officials said on Tuesday. The original documentation...

* W ZW. Z COVID-19 NA TYM ETAPIE SPÓŁKA NIE MA PODSTAW DO ZMIANY ZAŁOŻEŃ NA 2020 ROK

Polish mobile operator Play Communications <PLY.WA> is planning to roll out a 5G network in the northern city of Gdynia, its chief executive said, as the country's telcoms providers rush to be the first to offer commercial next generation services.

Poland's Cyfrowy Polsat said on Friday its Polkomtel unit had begun the roll-out of commercial 5G technology and aimed to start serving seven cities in the first quarter.

* SAYS KENBOURNE INVEST II REACHES 25.43% VOTING RIGHTS IN CO Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdansk Newsroom)

Polish mobile operator Play Communications <PLY.WA> does not expect key investors to sell any shares in the company, its chief executive said on Wednesday.