Vodafone-CK Hutchison Merger Announcement May Come By Next Week: Report

Vodafone Group PLC VOD and CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd CKHUF are said to be in the final stages of agreeing to combine their U.K. businesses.

The announcement is expected to come this Friday or by early next week, Reuters Reported.

The terms of the deal remain the same as announced last October. 

The deal would involve combining Vodafone UK and Three UK, with Vodafone holding 51% and CK Hutchison owning 49% of the new unit.

The deal values the equity of the combined group at £9 billion with £6 billion of debt, taking its enterprise value to £15 billion.

The report added that the deal would create U.K.'s largest mobile operator, with about 27 million customers, and can face strong scrutiny from regulators.

Last month, Vodafone reported FY23 revenue growth of 0.3% YoY to $49.05 billion, missing the consensus of $49.73 billion, and adjusted EPS of $0.12, missing the consensus of $1.15.

Vodafone generated $5.2 billion in free cash flow.

Price Action: VOD shares are trading higher by 1.25% at $9.70 premarket on the last check Wednesday.