EU Charges KKR Over Telecom Italia Deal, Says It May Have Misled Regulators

The European Commission sent formal antitrust charges to KKR on Monday, October 19, 2026, saying the United States investment firm may have provided incorrect or misleading information during the review of its purchase of Telecom Italia's fixed-line network, a deal worth up to 22 billion euros, or about 24.7 billion dollars, Reuters reported.

The charge sheet, known as a statement of objections, sets out the Commission's preliminary view. Regulators say KKR at least negligently submitted incorrect or misleading information about the terms of its existing long-term agreements for wholesale access to the network, including whether those existing terms would continue to apply. In the Commission's account, KKR told reviewers it would keep the long-term access agreements on the same terms unless a change was mutually agreed with the other operators, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

How the approval was won

The Commission unconditionally approved the deal in May 2024. That clearance rested in part on long-term agreements between FiberCop, Telecom Italia's last-mile grid unit, and two rival operators, Fastweb and Iliad, Reuters reported. Those agreements matter because rival operators pay to use the fixed network to sell broadband to their own customers. The terms they get decide how much competition Telecom Italia's old grid faces in homes and businesses across Italy.

Complaints reopened the case

The Commission opened a fresh investigation in July 2025, following complaints from third parties, Dow Jones Newswires reported. Rival operators argued that prices for access to Telecom Italia's fixed broadband network had been raised unilaterally after the deal closed, even though KKR had convinced the Commission that it would not have the power to make wholesale access conditions worse, Reuters reported. The new investigation led regulators to the preliminary view set out in Monday's charges.

What KKR faces

Companies found to have misled regulators during a merger review risk fines of up to 1 percent of their aggregate annual worldwide turnover, Reuters reported, and the Commission has handed out hefty fines for such violations in recent years. A statement of objections is not a final decision. It is the formal step that tells a company the case against it and gives it the chance to answer before regulators rule. KKR will now have the opportunity to respond to the objections, Reuters reported. KKR did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

The case now turns on a narrow question with wide effects. If the Commission's final ruling goes against KKR, the fine would land on one of the world's largest buyout firms over how it described access deals during a review. If KKR's answer persuades regulators, the charges fall away. Either way, the operators that rely on the network, and the customers who buy broadband over it, will feel the outcome in the prices set for access in the years ahead.