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ALN

Vodafone Group PLC’s sale of its Italian arm to Swisscom AG was approved by a watchdog in Italy on Wednesday.

Bern, Switzerland-based telecommunications company Swisscom said the deal was approved by the Italian Authority for Communications.

‘The approval is another important step on the way to securing the regulatory approvals needed to finalise the transaction,’ Swisscom said.

The €8 billion deal to buy Vodafone Italia was announced back in March.

It received European Commission approval in September.

There are still two regulatory obstacles remaining, however, including backing from the Italian Competition Authority in Rome.

Swisscom rose 0.5% to fr.515.50 each in Zurich on Wednesday morning. Vodafone was up 1.0% at 67.69 pence in London.