Vodafone and Three UK have completed their mega merger, amounting to £15 billion, creating a new telecoms force in the UK.

The merger was completed on 31 May, with the nearly two-year process resulting in the creation of the UK’s biggest mobile phone network.

With 27 million customers, VodafoneThree got approval from the Competition and Markets Authority in December last year, following close scrutiny from the regulatory watchdog.

The CMA was concerned that the merger would reduce consumer options in the mobile ecosystem, potentially leading to higher costs.

In the merger, Vodafone will take a 51% stake in the company, with the remainder going to Three UK. Following three years of the merger, Vodafone will have the option to buy the business outright.

As part of its ambitions, the group is aiming to reduce costs by £700m annually within its first five years.

As part of its conditional approval from the CMA, VodafoneThree had pledged to invest £11bn to help boost 5G capabilities across the nation over the next three years, with £1.3bn of this to be spent in the business’s first financial year.

The CMA also ensured that VodafoneThree will offer some short-term consumer protections, such as capping mobile tariffs, for three years.

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“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,” Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone Group CEO, said.

“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, Three UK’s parent company, 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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