Three UK's owner is reportedly plotting a £9 billion bid for O2

[viridis]

"Telefonica-owned O2 has quietly become the subject of interest from Three UK owner Hutchison Whampoa. According to The Sunday Times, the UK mobile market could quite soon shrink from four major operators to just three, after talks between the two companies reportedly progressed to a point where Hutchison Whampoa is ready to make a £9 billion bid for Britain's second-biggest carrier."

http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/18/hutchison-whampoa-o2-acquisition/

[MI5]

Quietly ????
It's been rumoured for the last 2 years !!

[Cleoriff]

As BT chose EE rather than O2 in its takeover... I suppose it was only a matter of time before someone showed an interest in O2..

Mind you it's surprising to me ...as until I read that article I presumed O2 was a much bigger company than 3?

[MI5]

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@Cleoriff wrote:

Mind you it's surprising to me ...as until I read that article I presumed O2 was a much bigger company than 3?

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As we discussed last week - Hutchinson Whampoa are massive worldwide.

[viridis]

Indeed they are.

[Bambino]

I'm not so sure if a Three takeover of O2 would be a good thing for Three customers. They get a fair few perks at the moment. I'm wondering if those perks would be extended to O2 customers, or if Three would have to cut some of their offers back?

On another note, if BT buy EE, I'm also wondering what would happen to Virgin Mobile, as they piggyback on the EE network. Virgin Media are major BT competitors in other areas, so how might it affect the mobile branch of the business?

[Cleoriff]

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@MI5 wrote:

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@Cleoriff wrote:

Mind you it's surprising to me ...as until I read that article I presumed O2 was a much bigger company than 3?

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As we discussed last week - Hutchinson Whampoa are massive worldwide.

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So we did....I still forgot to link those with 3 ....(in todays post) 

[Beenherebefore]

And the overall group is very big with extensive interests......eg Superdrug and Felixstowe Port

http://www.hutchison-whampoa.com/en/global/home.php

[Anonymous]

It's been a fairly hot topic on giffgaff's forums recently, as many are worried that Three would see giffgaff as being surplus to their requirements. I've just left Three because of issues with dropped calls, but they would bring in an excellent 3G network if such a takeover were to take place. So it should be good news for O2 customers, or am I missing something?

[MI5]

I use O2, giffgaff and Three because they all offer something slightly different that benefits me (unlimited data, free 08 calls, signal strength etc) so if all the benefits were combined into one sim, it would make my life a bit easier