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Vodafone and CK Hutchinson confirm they are in talks over a UK merger.
Following months of speculation, Vodafone UK has confirmed that it is in talks with Three’s parent company CK Hutchinson about a potential merger.
In a statement released today, Vodafone revealed that the planned partnership would see both companies merge their UK businesses with Vodafone owning 51% and CK Hutchinson owning 49% of the combined assets.
The combination of the two networks would create the UK’s biggest mobile operator, larger than both BT and Virgin Media O2.
The statement went on to say that “By combining our businesses, Vodafone UK and Three UK will gain the necessary scale to be able to accelerate the rollout of full 5G in the UK and expand broadband connectivity to rural communities and small businesses.”
If approved, the deal would be the latest in a series of consolidation efforts in the UK’s mobile market following Virgin Media’s merger with O2 in 2020 and BT’s acquisition of EE in 2015.
