Vodafone and Three owner CK Hutchison have agreed a £15bn merger for their UK operations after more than eight months of talks, but some have raised concerns over the latter firm’s Chinese ownership.
Vodafone will own the majority of the business with 51 per cent, while CK Hutchison will own 49 per cent. The firms first announced they were in talks last October, but the finalised merger agreement will now trigger a lengthy review process by UK regulatory boards.
In 2021, the Competition and Markets Authority approved the proposed merger between Virgin Media and O2. But a previous attempt by Three to buy O2 in 2016 was blocked by the European Commission over concerns that it would reduce competition for UK consumers.
The new deal will help the two firms compete with others in the sector to continue the…
