CMA provisionally approves Vodafone and Three merger
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have provisionally concluded that with certain commitments the proposed merger of Vodafone and Three would not be a competition concern.
Vodafone and Three first proposed merging in June last year, however the CMA have been investigating the proposed deal because of concerns that the merger would lead to higher prices for customers as well as harming mobile virtual network operators.
The CMA have identified remedies including a commitment to upgrading the merged company’s network across the UK, including 5G rollout, and short-term customer protections that would solve competition concerns and allow the merger to go ahead.
Currently, O2 and EE are the largest operators in the mobile market. While merging Vodafone and Three would reduce the main operators from four to three, by applying the remedies, it is thought that the merger would result in three more equal networks that could aid competition in the long run.
Responses are due to the CMA this week and then it will make its final decision by December 7th.