The £16.5 billion merger of telecoms giants Vodafone and Three has completed, and the CEO and CFO of the combined entity now revealed.
The deal was given the green light by the Competition and Markets Authority in December following a multi-billion-pound commitment to upgrade the merged company’s network across the UK – including £11bn to roll out 5G.
In a notice to the London Stock Exchange, Vodafone stated: “Vodafone Group Plc and CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holdings Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings Limited, are pleased to announce that the merger of Vodafone UK and Three UK successfully completed on 31 May 2025.
“The combined business, named VodafoneThree, is 51% owned by Vodafone and 49% by CKHGT. Vodafone will fully consolidate VodafoneThree in its financial results, and the chief executive officer is Max Taylor, who currently leads Vodafone UK. Three UK’s Darren Purkis is appointed chief financial officer.”
London-based Vodafone recently revealed its FY25 results, with the company £346m in the red for the year after making a profit of £3.1bn in FY24.
In its first year, VodafoneThree plans to invest £1.3bn in capex, Vodafone said, adding that the combined business is expected to deliver cost and capex synergies of £700m per annum by the fifth year after completion.
“The merger will create a new force in UK mobile, transform the country’s digital infrastructure and propel the UK to the forefront of European connectivity,” said Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone Group chief executive.
“We are now eager to kick-off our network build and rapidly bring customers greater coverage and superior network quality. The transaction completes the reshaping of Vodafone in Europe, and following this period of transition we are now well-positioned for growth ahead.”
Last month Vodafone Group Plc said its CFO Luka Mucic is to step down from the role.
Canning Fok, deputy chairman of CK Hutchison and executive chairman of CKHGT, said: “As we have demonstrated in other European markets, scale enables the significant investment needed to deliver the world-beating mobile networks our customers expect, and the Vodafone and Three merger provides that scale.
“In addition, this transaction unlocks significant shareholder value, returning approximately £1.3bn in net cash to the group.”
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