O2 and Hutchinson

[Anonymous]

This is a little old/belated ... but did the 'agreed sale' of O2 to Hutchinson ever go through or is it still in progress?  I can't see any news items and googling this just brings up the original proposals.

[MI5]

It's with the monopolies commission to make a decision by the end of March, I believe.....

[Curr946]

The concern is that three is a challenger brand and by its merger with O2 would reduce competition leading to higher prices.... Lot of nonsense if you ask me. There are a lots of Virtual Operators such as tesco giffgaff and virgin to keep the bigger networks in check.

[Cleoriff]

We are still all waiting patiently.....:smileywink:

[Bambino]

These articles from the end of October appear to be the most recent concerning the merger.

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2432804/ec-plans-in-depth-probe-of-threes-o2-takeover-due-t...

http://news.sky.com/story/1578535/o2-mobile-merger-to-require-spectrum-sale

Edit: Just found this from a month ago.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eu-telefonica-m-a-ckh-holdings-idUKKBN0TN11820151204

[MI5]

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-3353213/Brussels-sets-scope-investigation-propose...

[jonsie]

With o2 already having a big share of the MVNO market it could be a crucial point.

[Cleoriff]

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@MI5 wrote:
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-3353213/Brussels-sets-scope-investigation-propose...

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Interesting to note this from the above article...

The Commission has sent out a questionnaire to companies in the mobile sector asking for comments. The survey includes questions on Tesco mobile and the takeover of EE by BT... It will also ask for responses on the expected impact on the wholesale market...

Mmmmmmm....It certainly sounds as if there is a lot of 'stalling' going on...