Vodafone finalises merger with Three UK, to invest £11 billion over next 10 years

Vodafone UK has completed its merger with Three UK on May 31, 2025. The combined entity will be known as VodafoneThree, with 51% stake owned by Vodafone. 

Taking to the social media platform X, Vodafone Group informed, “We are pleased to announce the successful completion of the merger of @VodafoneUK and @ThreeUK.”

VodafoneThree aims to “deliver a vastly superior mobile experience for millions of customers and businesses up and down the country,” the post stated.

VodafoneThree plans to invest £11 billion over the next 10 years, Vodafone Group Plc and CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holdings Limited informed in a joint statement on Monday, June 2, 2025.

Vodafone will fully consolidate VodafoneThree in its financial results, while Max Taylor, currently leading Vodafone UK, will serve as the Chief Executive Officer. Darren Purkis of Three UK has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer.

The company plans to invest £1.3 billion in capex, particularly to increase network deployment.

The combined entity is anticipated to generate cost and capex synergies of £700 million annually by the fifth year, and the transaction is expected to improve the adjusted free cash flow of Vodafone from FY29 onwards, the statement said.

Competition & Markets Authority approval

The deal was first announced in June 2023 and received the clearance of the Competition & Markets Authority, the UK's primary competition regulator on December 5, 2024.

“We’ve cleared #Vodafone’s merger with #Three, subject to the companies agreeing to legally binding commitments, including to invest billions in rolling out a combined #5G network across the UK. This would ensure the merger boosts competition in UK mobile #telecoms,” Competition & Markets Authority informed on X.

Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone Group Chief Executive, believes that the merger aims to improve network connectivity in the UK and reshape Vodafone's presence in Europe.

“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," Valle said.

“The transaction completes the reshaping of Vodafone in Europe, and following this period of transition we are now well-positioned for growth ahead," she added.

Speaking on the merger, Canning Fok, Deputy Chairman of CK Hutchison and Executive Chairman of CKHGT, said, "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.

Fox further added, “this transaction unlocks significant shareholder value, returning approximately £1.3 billion in net cash to the Group.”