LONDON, Sept 12 (Askume) – Britain’s competition watchdog said Vodafone’s (VOD.L) CK Hutchison Whampoa ‘s (0001.HK) $19 billion merger with Three UK could raise prices for mobile users and the company will explore possible solutions to address its concerns before making a final decision on the deal in December.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) acknowledged that the deal could improve the quality of mobile networks and accelerate the deployment of next-generation 5G, as both operators said.
Stuart Mackintosh, chairman of the CMA investigation, said on Friday: “We will now consider how Vodafone and Three address our concerns about the potential impact of the merger on retail and wholesale customers and the potential longer-term impact of the merger on our customers, including how to secure future network road investment.”
