Telecom providers Vodafone and CK Hutchison are reportedly planning a £15 billion mobile merger in the UK. According to three insider sources, the deal would create the country’s largest mobile operator, with more than 28 million customers. The new company would have an equity value of approximately £9 billion and debt of approximately £6 billion, bringing the enterprise value of the new organization to a total of approximately £15 billion. The merger agreement is expected to be announced later this month, following the appointment of Margherita Della Valle as chief executive of Vodafone.
However, the deal poses a number of potential problems for UK regulators. The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has generally opposed mergers that could lead to greater concentration of market power, and a similar deal between Three UK and O2 was blocked in 2016. In addition, the combination could enable Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison to exit the UK telecoms market, prompting the UK government to use its new powers under the National Security and Investment Act to review and sometimes reject foreign party transactions involving UK assets.
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Vodafone and CK Hutchison are reportedly planning a £15 billion mobile merger in the UK, creating the country’s largest mobile operator with more than 28 million customers. The new company would have an equity value of approximately £9 billion and debt of approximately £6 billion, bringing the enterprise value of the new organization to a total of approximately £15 billion. The merger agreement is expected to be announced later this month, following the appointment of Margherita Della Valle as Vodafone’s chief executive. However, the deal could pose a number of potential problems for UK regulators, including antitrust concerns and the UK government’s use of its new powers under the National Security and Investment Act.
