The antitrust watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), approved the USD 19 billion Vodafone-Three UK deal on November 5 after accepting the companies’ claim that improved networks would boost competition and boost the economy.

The CMA further said the combined group’s network investment plan would drive competition in the long term, dropping its objection that a move from four to three networks could push up prices.

“We believe the merger is likely to boost competition in the UK mobile sector and should be allowed to proceed – but only if Vodafone and Three agree to implement our proposed measures,” the regulatory body stated.

The CMA angered Microsoft by outright blocking its USD 69 billion Activision Blizzard deal due to concerns about competition in the emerging cloud gaming market. Now the approval comes 18 months later.

Microsoft’s behavioural remedies, which included promises about how the combined company would conduct itself to preserve competition, were rejected at that time because they would be hard to keep an eye on.

A revised deal was approved by the increasingly isolated CMA after Microsoft objected to Britain being closed for business.

It agreed to behavioural remedies for the Vodafone-Three deal, giving telecoms regulator Ofcom the responsibility of monitoring pricing and investment commitments to allay its competition concerns. This is a shift in the regulator’s strategy.

In October 2024, Keir Starmer told a group of foreign investors that the CMA, which has been more involved in merger control since Britain’s exit from the European Union, and other regulators needed to take “growth as seriously as this room does.”

When the deal was announced in June 2023, Margherita Della Valle, the CEO of Vodafone, put growth at the forefront of her pitch, and that message resonated with her.

Recently, she asserted that “the UK’s economic growth ambitions and many aspects of our lives depend on good connectivity.”

In terms of 5G availability and download speeds, Britain ranks 22nd out of 25 European countries, offering some of the slowest mobile speeds in the continent, according to analytics firm OpenSignal.

Operators across Europe have argued that regulators’ focus on low prices has hurt investment and left its digital infrastructure trailing the United States and Asia, hampering the continent’s economies.

The four-to-three mergers that were allowed required the creation of challenger brands to keep prices low. The CMA’s latest action now marks the first time a major European market has allowed such a deal without structural remedies.

Instead, Vodafone and Three, Britain’s third and fourth operators respectively, committed to spending 11 billion pounds (USD 14 billion) on a 5G network that would serve 50 million customers, including the subscribers of Vodafone’s network sharing partner Virgin Media O2 (VM O2).

It also sold spectrum to VM O2, pledged to cap some tariffs and agreed to set contract terms for mobile virtual operators.

The CMA accepted that three stronger operators – Vodafone-Three, current market leader BT and VM O2 would provide enough competition to deliver a better service for customers.

Della Valle, however, said it was too soon to say if the group would keep both main brands and its Voxi and Smarty value brands.

Analyst Karen Egan at Enders Analysis told Reuters that the approval was the right outcome after Hong Kong’s Hutchison warned it was struggling to invest because it did not make a return on its capital.

“Three high-quality networks instead of four inferior ones will serve consumers and businesses better, and the industry can move away from the low returns, low investment cycle that has dogged it,” Egan said.

Vodafone will own 51% of the combined company and will have the option to buy the remainder after three years subject to certain conditions.

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September 06, 2016: Datatec Financial Services, a subsidiary of Datatec Limited, has made three senior appointments in North America, UK, and Australia. The group appointed Paul Christensen as director of North America, Mark Hegarty as director of Australia and New Zealand and Paul Tweehuysen as commercial director based in the UK.

Datatec Financial Services is responsible for providing financial solutions and services to end user customers, partners and manufacturers of Datatec’s operating divisions, Logicalis and Westcon-Comstor to drive incremental business and profitability.

Christensen and Hegarty will be responsible for leading the company’s business strategy and operations, as well as managing and delivering its financial solutions and products portfolio to Logicalis and Westcon-Comstor’s customers, partners, and manufacturers in their respective geographies. Tweehuysen, as part of the management team in the UK will focus on global operations and strategy and provide support to the regional directors and their teams in enabling transactions. Christensen, Hegarty and Tweehuysen will report to Christian Roelofs, managing director of Datatec Financial Services.

Jens Montanana, CEO of Datatec Group, said: “All three appointments make valuable additions to the team as the business continues to develop its offering across North America, UK, Australia and New Zealand.

“Datatec Financial Services’ innovative financing solutions are instrumental to enhancing synergies across the Group and growing our services portfolio.

“The financing solutions Datatec Financial Services offer Westcon-Comstor and Logicalis customers are a key point of differentiation for us in a highly competitive and ever changing marketplace.”

Paul Christensen has more than 25 years’ experience in the financial services industry. Paul previously worked for CIT as chief sales officer of Avaya Financial Services and regional finance manager of EMC Global Financial Services.

Mark Hegarty’s most recent roles include national sales manager for CNH Industrial Capital and managing director at Future Finance Corporation. Mark brings over 25 years’ experience in financial services to the business.

Paul Tweehuysen joins from Cisco Capital where he was Global Engagement Manager (EMEA). Previously Paul was Capital and Leasing Manager at Stanley Security Solutions Ltd.  He has over 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry.

Christian Roelofs, managing director at Datatec Financial Services, commented: “Paul Christensen, Mark Hegarty, and Paul Tweehuysen bring a great deal of expertise and creativity to Datatec Financial Services and are ideally suited to support the business in the next phase of its development.

“With the expansion of our team we now have a foundation across our core geographies to provide Westcon-Comstor and Logicalis with unique financial solutions. By integrating the financial services offering with the customer offering from the outset we can provide a genuine competitive advantage.

“With the shift towards cloud based services and Everything as a Service (EaaS), investment decisions are no longer simply a choice between leasing or buying. Enabling a new alternative to better address Westcon-Comstor and Logicalis customers’ needs is our top priority.”

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