Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings said it had a “fruitful” exchange with European Union competition regulators at a hearing on Monday to further discuss its plan to merge its UK mobile operator Three UK with rival O2.
Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings (SEHK:0013) said it had a “fruitful” exchange with European Union competition regulators at a hearing on Monday to further discuss its plan to merge its UK mobile operator Three UK with rival O2.
Several other companies were also reportedly present at the hearing including Vodafone, France’s Iliad, pay-TV company Sky, Talk Talk, BT and Liberty Global – all of which are already present in the UK market or looking to enter it.
A few weeks ago, Hutchison reportedly received a statement of objections from the EU regulator. Monday’s hearing gave the conglomerate “the opportunity to have another fruitful exchange with the Commission and the Member States’ representatives concerning its proposed acquisition of O2 in the UK“, according to a company statement.
“We are committed to providing UK customers with the best network and the best mobile service in the UK and have made three promises to UK consumers: not to increase prices for five years following the merger, to invest £5bn over the next five years and to offer fractional shared ownership interests in our network to other meaningful competitors thus ensuring choice and continued vigorous competition in the UK mobile market,” Hutchison said.
In early February, Canning Fok, Hutchison’s group co-managing director and chairman of Three UK, wrote a letter defending his company’s agreed £10.3bn (US$15.3bn) acquisition of O2 from Telefónica (MAD:TEF) following complaints from Ofcom about the tie-up. The British regulator is concerned that the deal, which would reduce the number of mobile operators from four to three, would result in higher costs for consumers and businesses, disrupt the existing network sharing agreements and negatively impact independent phone retailers.
Ofcom CEO Sharon White asked the European Commission (EC) on 1 February not to clear the approved merger.
The EC is also currently reviewing another deal involving Hutchison. The conglomerate is attempting to merge its Three Italia subsidiary with VimpelCom’s Wind Telecomunicazioni.
Hutchison won approval to carry out similar mergers in Austria and Ireland, in 2012 and 2014 respectively, after agreeing to concessions aimed at strengthening existing MVNOs.