United Group said on Wednesday that it had received European Commission approval to buy the Greek telecommunications operator Wind Hellas.

“The European Commission unconditionally approved the acquisition of Greek telecoms operator Wind Hellas by United Group, Southeast Europe’s leading provider of telecommunications and media services,” a press release said.

It added that the decision gives the green light for Netherlands-based United Group to take the final steps to complete the transaction, which was announced in August 2021.

“United Group will combine Wind with Nova, its existing fixed telecom and pay-TV provider in Greece, which was acquired in November 2020, to create a fully converged operator that will be the market’s number two player in both fixed and pay-TV services. United Group expects to complete the transaction in January 2022,” the press release said.

United Group is the leading multi-play telecoms and media provider in South East Europe, providing customers with a full range of telecommunications services. It has the broadest network coverage in the region and offers customers an unrivalled selection of content, from local offerings to the best selection from across the globe. Its operations in Serbia include the SBB company and its EON and Total TV services as well as the N1, Nova S and Sport Klub TV channels and portals.

United Group became majority owned in March 2019 by BC Partners, a leading alternative investment firm with over €40 billion in assets under management across the private equity, private debt and real estate segments.