EU Commission blocks merger 3UK - O2 in the UK

The proposed multi-billion dollar merger between 3 and O2 UK was rejected by officials for the Antitrust Brussels. Many possible problems within the chords according to the Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, including "significant competition problems that might have led to higher prices and less choice for mobile consumers."

According to the politician from the 10.25 billion pounds deal could damage the mobile phone industry in the UK: "If the acquisition had gone ahead it would change things for the worse", where the British island is considered a nation "advanced", among the EU members, in terms of dissemination of the latest connectivity technologies. 3 UK and O2 together they could create a leader in the mobile market of proportion compared to the remaining proposals.

The new manager would have earned in a flash a market share of 40%, whereas 3 UK today is an "important element" for fair competition between the various brands in the United Kingdom. there have been of course the disappointment of comments holding company involved in the merger request, including CK Hutchison Holdings, parent company of 3 UK, which is considering legal action to refute what forced EU Antitrust:

"We are deeply disappointed by the Commission's decision to prohibit the merger between 3 UK and O2 in the UK. We will study the Commission's decision in detail and consider our options, including the possibility of a legal challenge.

We firmly believe that the merger would bring great benefits to the UK, not only releasing 10 billion pounds in investment in the private sector for the UK digital infrastructure, but also addressing the problems of coverage of the country, increasing the network capacity, its speed and competition on prices for consumers and businesses across the nation, while addressing effectively the competition problems that are resulting from the significant imbalance in ownership between the British mobile network operators. "

The other side is quite excited Ofcom, the regulator in charge of the UK communications company that had requested the blocking of the merger agreement between the two operators: "We believe it is the right thing for mobile customers, which have always been our priority. Three and O2 are important and effective competitors in the UK and help provide innovation, investment and competitive prices for many years. the competition is to be sustainable, and the regulation should support it. "