Following a provisional clearance last month, the CMA is now allowing the proposed merger of Virgin Media and Virgin Mobile with O2 to go-ahead
Both Virgin and O2 sell wholesale services to a number of mobile operators in the UK. Virgin supplies wholesale leased lines to mobile operators and O2 provides its mobile network to companies that do not have their own.
The CMA was initially concerned that, following the merger, Virgin and O2 could raise prices or reduce the quality of these wholesale services. If this were to happen, it could lead to other companies being forced to offer lower quality mobile services or increase their retail prices which would negatively impact consumers.
The merger was referred to a group of independent CMA Panel members for an in-depth Phase 2 investigation. The Group has concluded that the deal is unlikely to lead to any substantial lessening of competition for a number of reasons:
Martin Coleman, CMA Panel Inquiry Chair, said:
More information is available on the Liberty Global plc / Telefónica S.A. merger inquiry case page.