The Commission for Protection of Competition blocked the deal in July and Inercom filed an appeal against it in a Bulgarian court.

Last month Inercom divested its solar energy business to clear regulatory objections to the deal, estimated at 320 million euros and sought new approval.

On Thursday, the regulator said it cannot look into their new request while there is an open court case.

(Reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)