Hutchison: The long-awaited mobile deal reduces the number of networks from four to three, challenging a tenet long held by regulators that four help to keep prices low in major markets.
LONDON (Reuters) -It has taken months of tortuous negotiations for Vodafone and CK Hutchison to agree a deal to create Britain's biggest mobile operator, but from a regulatory standpoint the hard work is only just beginning. The $19 billion tie-up will be scrutinised by Britain's Competition and Markets Authority, the antitrust regulator which made global headlines in April when it blocked Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard. Hutchison tried to buy Telefonica's O2 network seven years ago, but the deal - already opposed by Britain's telecoms regulator Ofcom - was blocked by the European Commission on the grounds that it would damage competition.
It has taken months of
tortuous negotiations for Vodafone and CK Hutchison
to agree a deal to create Britain s biggest mobile
operator, but from a regulatory standpoint the hard work is only
just. | June 15, 2023
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