Telco groups Vodafone Group Plc and CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holdings have confirmed that the merger of Vodafone UK and Three UK successfully completed on May 31st.

The combined business, named VodafoneThree, is 51 per cent owned by Vodafone and 49 per cent by CKHGT. Vodafone will fully consolidate VodafoneThree in its financial results, and the Chief Executive Officer is Max Taylor, who currently leads Vodafone UK. Three UK’s Darren Purkis is appointed Chief Financial Officer.

VodafoneThree will invest £11 billion (€13bn) over the next 10 years – creating one of Europe’s most advanced 5G networks, giving millions of customers and businesses up and down the country a vastly superior mobile experience. In its first year, VodafoneThree plans to invest £1.3 billion in capex. This will enable the company to accelerate its network deployment.

Consistent with previously communicated expectations, the combined business is expected to deliver cost and capex synergies of £700 million per annum by the fifth year after completion and the transaction is expected to be accretive to Vodafone’s Adjusted free cash flow from FY29 onwards.

Full alignment to Vodafone’s accounting policies is ongoing and pro forma financials will be provided in due course.

High-quality network connectivity is critical to so many elements of daily life. It is also central to the UK’s economic growth prospects, important for the UK’s science and technology sectors, as well as for improving public services and narrowing the digital divide across the country. This significant investment in a 5G Standalone network will propel the UK’s mobile infrastructure to the forefront of European connectivity.

Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone Group Chief Executive, said: “The merger will create a new force in UK mobile, transform the country’s digital infrastructure and propel the UK to the forefront of European connectivity. We are now eager to kick off our network build and rapidly bring customers greater coverage and superior network quality. The transaction completes the reshaping of Vodafone in Europe, and following this period of transition we are now well-positioned for growth ahead.”

Canning Fok, Deputy Chairman of CK Hutchison and Executive Chairman of CKHGT, said: “As we have demonstrated in other European markets, scale enables the significant investment needed to deliver the world-beating mobile networks our customers expect, and the Vodafone and Three merger provides that scale. In addition, this transaction unlocks significant shareholder value, returning approximately £1.3 billion in net cash to the Group.”

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Tags: Three, Vodafone