Private equity firms reportedly circling O2 after Three merger blocked
Top private equity firms are circling O2 after Brussels yesterday blocked a billion pound takeover of the mobile network by Three owner Hutchison, according to reports.
Apax Partners, CVC Capital and KKR are among firms to have held preliminary talks exploring a potential bid for Telefonica's O2, Sky reports.
They join Liberty Global, the owner of Virgin Media in the UK, as a potential bidder for the network.
Read more: Was the European Commission right to block the Three-O2 merger?
Apax and CVC did not comment on the report. KKR could not be reached for comment at the time of publication.
The European Commission on Wednesday blocked the £10.25bn deal that would have merged O2 and Three in the UK, reducing the number of mobile networks in the UK from four to three. Competition chief Margrethe Vestager ruled that the merger would reduce competition in the mobile market.
China's Hutchison is considering a legal challenge to the ruling.