The merger of Vodafone and Three is complete, creating VodafoneThree, the largest mobile phone network in the UK. The new entity is 51% owned by Vodafone and 49% by CKHGT.
Max Taylor, currently leading Vodafone UK, takes the role of Chief Executive Officer. Darren Purkis from Three UK becomes Chief Financial Officer. The combined company has pledged over £11 billion in investment over the next 10 years to expand 5G coverage in underserved areas.
Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone Group Chief Executive, stated, “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, commented: “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.”
This merger significantly alters the UK mobile landscape. Before the merger, Vodafone held fourth place, while Three was fifth. EE remains the second largest, and O2 holds fourth place.