A pedestrian walks past a Vodafone store in central London on May 16, 2023. British mobile giant Vodafone is to cut 11,000 jobs over three years in the latest cut in the technology industry, with new boss Margherita Della Valle slamming recent results.
Adrian Dennis | AFP | Getty Images
Britain’s competition watchdog on Thursday launched an in-depth investigation into Vodafone’s proposed merger with CK Hutchison’s Three mobile networks.
The Competition and Markets Authority said that based on the information currently available, the deal “is expected to result in a significant lessening of competition in one or more UK markets”.
In late March, the CMA gave Vodafone and Changhe Five working days to come up with “meaningful solutions” to the regulator’s concerns, or face an in-depth investigation.
The CMA has given itself a deadline of September 18 to complete its in-depth investigation, also known as the Phase 2 investigation.
The CMA has previously said the deal could result in customers facing higher prices and lower quality, reducing competition in the UK mobile market. Regulators believe the deal could also leave so-called mobile virtual network operators, which rely on Vodafone and Three’s infrastructure, unable to negotiate good deals for their own users.
announced last yearThe Vodafone and CK Hutchison deal will combine the UK operations of both brands, with Vodafone taking a 51% controlling stake and CK Hutchison taking a minority stake.
The merger of Vodafone’s UK operations and Three UK will reduce the number of mobile operators in the country to just three, following major consolidation in the telecoms industry over the past few years.
The CMA launched an antitrust investigation into the merger in January.
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