UK Competition Watchdog Gives Final Approval for Virgin Media-O2 Merger

By Adria Calatayud

The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority said Thursday that it has given the green light to a proposed merger between Liberty Global PLC's Virgin Media and Telefonica SA's O2, in a deal that is set to create a major U.K. telecoms operator.

The final decision from the antitrust regulator follows its provisional clearance given last month. The CMA said it concluded that the deal is unlikely to hurt competition after an in-depth investigation.

In response, John Malone's Liberty Global and Spain's Telefonica said they welcome final U.K. regulatory approval for their Virgin Media-O2 joint venture and said the deal is now expected to close by June 1.

Liberty Global and Telefonica reached an agreement for the combination of Virgin Media and O2 in May last year, in a deal that is set to create an integrated communications provider with revenue of 11 billion pounds ($15.53 billion).

Last month, Liberty Global and Telefonica said the new entity would be led by Lutz Schueler as chief executive officer and Patricia Cobian as chief financial officer.

Write to Adria Calatayud at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 20, 2021 02:44 ET (06:44 GMT)

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