O2, Three merger blocked by European Commission

The European Commission has stopped the sale of O2 to telecommunications company Three. 

Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager blocked the acquisition because of "strong concerns" that British mobile customers would have less choice and would have to pay higher prices as a result of the takeover. 

The deal would have also had a negative impact on quality of service for customers, Vestager added. 

"We had strong concerns that consumers would have had less choice finding a mobile package that suits their needs and paid more than without the deal," she said in a statement. 

"It would also have hampered innovation and the development of network infrastructure in the UK, which is a serious concern especially for fast moving markets. The remedies offered by Hutchison were not sufficient to prevent this." Read more...