$19bn deal - Vodafone UK and Three UK merge to form the UK's largest mobile operator with 28m subscribers

Vodafone Group Plc and CK Hutchison have agreed to merge their businesses in the UK. This will create the UK's largest mobile phone operator.

Here's What We Know

Vodafone UK now ranks third in the UK mobile market. Three UK is ranked a notch lower. The number of customers is ~18 million and ~10 million respectively. After the merger, the new company will have approximately 28 million subscribers in the United Kingdom.

The deal will be worth £15bn ($19bn). The companies plan to complete the merger of the two businesses by the end of next year. Vodafone will control 51% of the shares and CK Hutchison will receive 49% of the securities of the merged company.

Vodafone UK is now second only to two mobile operators in the UK. The market leader is O2, with EE in second place. They have approximately 24 million and 22 million subscribers.

The combined company intends to invest £11bn ($14bn) in developing networks across the UK. But the deal will have to be approved by regulators who may not like the drop in the number of operators from four to three.

Source: BBC