Last checked at 
(Adds Liberty Global and Telefonica joint comment)
By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS, Nov 16 (Reuters) - UK competition watchdog CMA is
set to take over the review of Liberty Global and
Telefonica's plan to merge their British businesses,
with EU antitrust regulators ceding the case to them, according
to a person familiar with the matter.
The U.S. cable operator and Spanish telecoms provider want
to better compete with market leader BT with the $38
billion deal combining Virgin Media and O2.
They sought European Commission approval on Sept. 30 while
CMA requested to take over the review on Oct. 8 because of the
deal's impact in Britain and after Brexit.
The EU competition enforcer, which has a Nov. 19 deadline
for its preliminary scrutiny, declined to comment. It has, in
the past, preferred to examine telecom cases rather than cede
them to national watchdogs to maintain a harmonised policy
across the 27-country bloc.
"We remain in constructive dialogue with all relevant
stakeholders at the EU and CMA and continue to work to the
timeline of completing the deal mid-next year," the companies
said in a joint statement.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Bernadette Baum and
Jason Neely)
