Vodafone buys out UK mobile partner CK Hutchison in $5.8 billion deal

LONDON: Vodafone has agreed to buy its partner CK Hutchison’s stake in VodafoneThree for 4.3 billion pounds ($5.8 billion), taking full ownership of Britain’s biggest mobile operator a year after it was created. VodafoneThree is currently owned 51% by Britain’s Vodafone Group and 49% ‌by Hong Kong-based ⁠conglomerate CK ⁠Hutchison Group Telecom Holdings, which will sell the stake, the companies said on Tuesday.

Shares of CK Hutchison were up more than 4%, hitting their highest level in over six years, while Vodafone stock rose 2% to the highest since August 2022. The joint venture combined Vodafone’s British unit with Hutchison’s Three, leapfrogging rivals BT’s EE and O2, owned by Telefonica and Liberty Global, to become market leader.