United Kingdom Quick View: O2-Virgin Merger To Improve Outlook Of UK Broadband Market

摘要

The Latest: On April 14 2021, the UK’s competition regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) provisionally cleared the proposed merger between Telefonica-backed O2 and Liberty Global-owned Virgin Media, set to be worth around GBP31bn (USD42.7bn). The deal has been on the table since May 2020 and would see the two operators unite in a 50:50 joint venture. Due to the scale of the deal and the effect it could have on the UK’s telecoms sector, the CMA launched an investigation into the merger. In the announcement, it concluded that the merger was unlikely to lead to a significant decrease in competition, or contribute to higher prices or a reduced quality of service. Implications: Now that the deal has been provisionally cleared by the CMA, it looks as though the merger could go ahead in mid-2021. If finalised, the deal would bring together O2’s 27mn mobile subscribers and Virgin Media’s 5.4mn and 3.5mn broadband and TV customers.