Vodafone in takeover talks with T-Mobile

 

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By Matthew Sparkes

Posted on 29 Jun 2009 at 09:33

Vodafone could become the largest mobile operator in the UK, if takeover talks with T-Mobile UK come to fruition.

The company - already the biggest operator in the world, based on revenue - is currently investigating possible deals, says the Financial Times.

A deal could be mutually beneficial for shareholders of both companies. T-Mobile UK has been under-performing for several years, and owners Deutsche Telekom have reportedly hired JPMorgan to advise on the best strategy to take.

It is expected that a takeover would cost around 3 to 4 billion Euros, and that the resulting network would be the UK's largest in both revenue and customer base.

Vodafone currently has a 25% slice of the UK mobile market, while O2 has 27% - making it the largest operator. However, a combination of T-Mobile and Vodafone's business would see Vodafone's share balloon to 40%.

That may prompt regulators to step in and block the deal over competition concerns. However, the UK is the only European country to have five mobile networks, and in France, Italy and Spain the market has similarly dominant companies.

Neither Vodafone, T-Mobile UK or Deutsche Telekom were available for comment at the time of publication.