The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has recently declared its intentions to initiate a detailed Phase 2 probe into the prospective £15 billion merger between Vodafone UK and Three UK. Seemingly, this strategic move would reduce the mobile market players from four to three.
This announcement is not entirely surprising, given that the CMA had expressed possibilities of a comprehensive investigation into the merger last month. The regulator had commented on the vagueness of the claims by the companies regarding the positive impact of the deal on competition and investment, saying they lacked sufficient evidence.
As an attempt to alleviate these concerns, the CMA offered the operators an opportunity to suggest possible remedies within a timeframe of five days. However, this was met with disinterest from both Vodafone and Three. Following no proposal of concessions to allay the CMA’s competition trepidations, the regulator has announced the decision to move ahead with the investigation.
The response from Vodafone and Three to the CMA’s decision took the form of a joint statement. They expressed that this move by the CMA was anticipated and that they remained optimistic that the merger would serve the interests of UK customers.
A segment of the statement read, “This was an expected next step in the process and is in line with the timeframe for completion that we set out from the outset,”. The statement further emphasized, “Vodafone UK and Three UK remain confident that the transaction will drive stronger competition in the mobile sector and give customers and businesses a step-change in network quality, speed, and coverage from day one.” The results of the investigation are expected to be released in September.
