UK antitrust watchdog seeks views on Vodafone's merger with CK Hutchison's Three
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The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority, or CMA, is asking for market feedback on impact that the merger of U.K. telecommunication businesses of Vodafone (NASDAQ:VOD) and CK Hutchison's (OTCPK:CKHUY) (OTCPK:CKHUF) Three UK could have on competition in the country.
The British antitrust watchdog said it is providing an early opportunity for interested third parties to comment on the impact of the deal, before it launches a formal investigation once it has received the information it requires from the merging companies.
In June, Vodafone (VOD) and CK Hutchison announced that they were merging their U.K. telecommunication businesses, Vodafone UK and Three UK, to create the country's largest mobile operator.
"We will be carefully considering how this deal may affect competition in the UK, which could affect the options and prices available to customers. We will also assess how it may affect incentives to invest in the quality of UK mobile networks," said CMA's Chief Executive Sarah Cardell.
The CMA noted that the invitation to comment is being launched before the CMA starts its Phase 1 merger investigation. The agency needs to collect certain information from Vodafone and Three before it can begin a formal Phase 1 probe.
The CMA added that the four mobile network operators in the UK are â Vodafone UK, Three UK, BT Groups' (OTCPK:BTGOF) EE and Virgin Media O2.
In 2016, the European Commission blocked Three's Â£10.25B takeover of O2 on grounds of competition, more than a year after the deal to form U.K.'s largest mobile phone operator was announced. One of the reasons was that deal would have reduced the number of network owners from four to three.
The CMA has taken a tough stance against antitrust issues in recent years. The most recent example being Microsoft's (MSFT) $69B acquisition of Activision Blizzard (ATVI).

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