Vodafone-Three UK merger gets national security clearance

No national security objections to the proposed merger between the two companies, with the merged entity meeting certain conditions.

The proposed merger between Vodafone UK and Three UK has been cleared on national security grounds by the British Government.

The merged entity would establish its own national security committee to oversee any sensitive work, and a technical group within that committee would then provide updates and information to the Government.

In a joint statement, the two companies said: “We are pleased our proposed joint venture has been approved by the Government under the National Security and Investment Act.

“We are continuing to engage collaboratively with the Competition and Markets Authority to inform its ongoing review of our merger, which we strongly believe will strengthen competition in the UK’s mobile sector and enable a significant step-up in the UK’s mobile network infrastructure.”

The Competition and Markets Authority’s ‘Phase 2’ review of the proposed merger is still in progress.