It will create the UK’s biggest mobile operator, worth £15 billion
The bringing together of both networks to create the biggest mobile phone operator in the UK has been agreed between Vodafone and Three UK (owned by CK Hutchison).
The deal, which only includes the UK operations, will be majority-owned by Vodafone who will have a 51% stake.
The merger will mean both mobile operators’ customers will be served by one company, giving it around 27 million customers and increasing its market share beyond that of Virgin Media O2, who have 24 million customers. It would also mean EE move into third place in terms of size, with around 20 million customers.
Whilst the merger is still to be approved by regulators, both parties have said they will invest £11bn over 10 years to create “one of Europe’s most advanced standalone 5G networks”. This will no doubt help with regulation approval, given how this should benefit us customers.
As part of the agreement, Vodafone will also have the option to buy CK Hutchison’s stake three years after the deal completes.
The current UK boss of Vodafone Ahmed Essam will head up the new operation and is looking to make £700m worth of savings by year five.
Three UK has been looking for a buyer for a while now and this tie-up between them and Vodafone has been rumoured for a while.
Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone’s CEO said of the deal: “The merger is great for customers, great for the country and great for competition.
“As a country, the UK will benefit from the creation of a sustainable, strongly competitive third scaled operator – with a clear £11 billion network investment plan – driving growth, employment and innovation.”
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