Written by James Sillars, Business reporter @SkyNewsBiz
A deal that would create the country's biggest mobile phone operator has been struck by Vodafone and the owner of Three UK, CK Hutchison.
The new combined group, which will comprise only their respective UK operations, will be majority-owned by Vodafone with 51% of the equity.
The merger, if approved by regulators, will create a group with a combined 27 million mobile customers.
It would mean that BT-owned EE would lose its number-one position in the market by customer numbers. The merger would also see the combined group overtake O2.
But the Competition and Markets Authority is likely to be concerned that the proposal will lead to weaker competition.
The two groups said they would invest £11bn over 10 years to create, what they described as, "one of Europe's most advanced standalone 5G networks".
The pledge will be seen as a bid to sway the regulator and the government that the deal is in the public interest.
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