Vodafone in talks with CK Hutchison over possible UK operation | Photo credits: Bt Group
PARIS, Oct 3 (Reuters) – British telecoms operator Vodafone confirmed on Monday that it was in talks with CK Hutchison, owner of Three UK, over a possible merger of their UK operations.
Vodafone announced that it would hold 51% and Hutchison 49% of the new entity in the proposed merger scheme.
According to Sky News, which originally reported the information, a deal would create the UK’s largest mobile telecommunications operator, with some 27 million customer connections, ahead of BT-owned EE and Virgin Media O2.
Vodafone and Hutchison hope to reach a settlement by the end of the year, according to Sky News.
On the London Stock Exchange, the Vodafone title advances by 2.73%, one of the largest increases in the FTSE 100 index, itself down 0.55%.
Vodafone chief executive Nick Read said in February that the company was considering a merger with a competitor in several European markets to improve profitability. (Report Pul Sandle, Sachin Ravikumar and Muvija M, French version Laetitia Volga, edited by Kate Entringer)