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Britain’s competition regulator has approved a £16.5bn merger of Vodafone’s domestic business with CK Hutchison’s Three UK, which should create Britain’s biggest mobile operator.
The Competition and Markets Authority said on Thursday that the deal should go ahead if both companies sign binding commitments to invest billions in rolling out a combined 5G network across the UK, as well as short-term customer protection.
The CMA cleared the way for the tie-up last month after announcing it could go ahead as long as the companies addressed competition concerns.
In September, the watchdog said that the merger could lead to higher bills for tens of millions of customers and demanded changes.
The tie-up, first announced in 2023, will reduce the number of operators in the UK from four to three.
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