Hengeler Mueller advises 1&1 Drillisch on its way to becoming a mobile network operator

18. February 2021

On 15 February 2021, 1&1 Drillisch AG bindingly accepted Telefónica Deutschland's offer for national roaming and advance services. Telefónica had submitted an improved offer following a review by the EU Commission under a merger control remedy. The parties will now implement the terms of the offer in binding contracts. According to Telefónica Deutschland's offer, the agreement is expected to be concluded by mid-May 2021.

After having leased mobile frequencies from Telefónica Deutschland in December 2019, 1&1 Drillisch by accepting the national roaming offer has now achieved another key prerequisite for the planned rollout of its own nationwide 5G mobile network in Germany.

Hengeler Mueller advised 1&1 Drillisch on the agreements and on the proceedings before the German Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) and the EU Commission. The team was led by partners Daniela Favoccia (Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt) and Katharina Hesse (M&A/Regulatory, Düsseldorf) and included partners Dirk Uwer (Regulatory, Düsseldorf) and Markus Röhrig (Antitrust, Düsseldorf/Brussels) as well as associates Daniel Gajek (Frankfurt), Daniel Roggenkemper (both M&A), Norman Koschmieder (Regulatory), Tobias Bieber and Claudia Zschoch (both Antitrust) (all Düsseldorf).