Wind in CK Hutchinson’s sails as its network deal approved by Italians
A merger of CK Hutchison’s 3 Italia and Italian network Wind has been given final approval in Italy, just months after the European Commission stepped on Hutchison’s bid for O2.
Wind owner Vimplecom – backed by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman – said the nod meant it was on course to complete the deal before the end of the year.
The ambitious €20bn (£17.9bn) merger is expected to create a 50/50 joint venture with around 31m mobile customers and 2.8m fixed-line customers.
“The combined entity will deliver major investment into Italy’s digital infrastructure, bring benefits to consumers and businesses across Italy and unlock significant value through synergies,” said CK Hutchison in a statement.
The two companies claim the merger will accelerate investment in Italy’s digital infrastructure.
The European Commission cleared the deal last month, shortly after it blocked the planned takeover of UK mobile network O2 by Hutchison. It would have seen Telefonica’s O2 merge with Hutchison’s UK network Three in a deal valued at £10.25bn.
The clearance of the Italy deal represents the first time a major telecoms merger has been approved by Margrethe Vestager since she became the EU’s competition commissioner in 2014.