The European Commission on Tuesday announced that it had decided to fine Altice of France €124.5 million for having gone ahead with its acquisition of Portuguese telecommunications operator PT Portugal before having received formal notification or authorisation from the European Union authorities, so violating EU rules.

Altice in June 2015 released a statement saying that it had completed the acquisition, paying Brazil's Oi a total of €5.789 billion for its controlling stake in of PT Portugal. The stated final price was composed of €4.9 billion in cash, with €869 million of PT Portugal's outstanding debt taken over.

The announcement came after a meeting the previous month of holders of PT Portugal commercial paper, at which it was agreed that liability for €400 million of notes could be moved PT Internacional Finance. This was the last obstacle to the sale of PT Portugal to Altice, company officials said at the time.

The European Commission had granted authorisation for the takeover in April 2015, on the condition that Altice spin off its then Portuguese holdings in telecoms provider ONI and cable TV company Cabovisão, based on fears that the takeover would reduce competitive pressure in the market and potentially lead to unwarranted price rises.