A 3-judge panel of Bulgaria's Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) has upheld the decision of the Commission for the Protection of Competition that the '04 no-bid award of a GSM licence to telecom BTC did constitute state aid. The court struck down the appeal filed by Tafeta Ltd., based in Albany, U.S., wireless telecom operators MobilTel and GloBul and VoIP carrier NetPlus against the GSM award. Bulgaria's telecom regulator granted the wireless licence, Bulgaria's third, to BTC against a one-off charge of BGN 54 mln (EUR 27 mln). The award was an integral part of the EUR 280 mln acquisition of BTC by Viva Ventures, a Vienna-based vehicle of U.S. equity fund Advent International.