Li Ka-shing Flagship CK Hutchison Defends O2 Deal

HONG KONG—CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd., the flagship company of Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, on Thursday defended its proposed $15 billion deal to buy cellphone operator O2 after the U.K.'s telecommunications regulator warned against the deal.

In a statement, CK Hutchison Managing Director Canning Fok said the combination of O2 and Three, CK Hutchison's existing British carrier, wouldn't result in a price increase for consumers for five years. He added that the combined company would also invest £ 5 billion ($7.3 billion) in the business over the same period.

Mr. Fok said his company will also allow competitors to buy fractional ownership stakes in its U.K. mobile network as opposed to buying wholesale network capacity. Such a move would cut out the middleman and allow competitors on CK Hutchison's mobile network to offer lower prices to consumers.

Last week, the chief executive of U.K. telecommunications regulator Ofcom warned that the proposed merger could raise prices for consumers and hurt competition among U.K. mobile carriers.

Write to Wayne Ma at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 03, 2016 23:05 ET (04:05 GMT)

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