Vodafone has confirmed that it is holding merger talks with Three UK about a deal to combine their British operations.
According to Sky News, Vodafone UK and CK Hutchison, the owner of Three UK, hope to conclude an agreement by the end of the year.
Under the envisaged transaction Vodafone would own 51% and CK Hutchison would own 49% of the combined business, Vodafone said in a statement.
The relative ownership would be achieved through a differential leverage contribution at closing, with no cash consideration paid.
A combination of the two operators is expected to provide the scale needed to accelerate the rollout of full 5G in the UK and expand broadband connectivity to rural communities and small businesses.
By joining together, Vodafone and Three UK hope to be able to “challenge the two already consolidated players for all UK customers and bring benefits through competitively priced access to a third reliable, high quality and secure 5G network throughout the UK”.
However, at this stage there is no certainty that a deal will be reached nor that it would be permitted by telecoms industry regulator Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority.
