Vodafone and the owner of Three UK have agreed to merge their companies to form the largest mobile phone provider in the United Kingdom.
The companies intend to integrate their UK-based businesses, creating the largest mobile network in the UK with around 27 million consumers.
Regulators still need to decide whether or not the merger would result in price increases for consumers.
After merging, Vodafone and Three will have a larger market share than Virgin Media O2.
About 24 million people use Virgin Media O2’s mobile service, whereas 20 million people use BT Group-owned EE.
Vodafone and Three UK, respectively, are the third and fourth largest mobile companies in the United Kingdom. The merger will be reviewed by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which has already acknowledged its involvement.
The competition watchdog said:
“Both Vodafone and Three are key players in the UK communications market – with millions of consumers and many businesses relying on their services – so it’s right that the CMA reviews the impact this deal could have on competition.”
Vodafone’s UK boss, Ahmed Essam, who will retain his role in the merged firm, said:
“As we go into the coming weeks, we are going to bring the case to the CMA. We believe that this case stands on very strong grounds.
“We’re very confident on our case.”
