Three’s planned merger with Vodafone is ‘a clear attack on consumers’ amid £2bn payout to Hong Kong owners
- Tuesday, January 2nd, 2024
- Share this article:
Three UK has been accused of profiteering from its planned merger with Vodafone after it paid its Hong Kong-listed owner, CK Hutchinson £2 billion.
According to trade union Unite, the dividend paid to CK Hutchinson, which is a conglomerate of the billionaire Li Ka-Shing owned by Three, is highly profitable as an independent business and could remain sustainable without merging.
Subscribe to Mobile Marketing Magazine
Click here to get the latest marketing news free in your inbox every Thursday
If UK regulators approve the merger, the main competition will be among Virgin Media O2, EE/BT, and Vodafone/Three.
Hutchison 3G claimed the one-time dividend payment followed the £10 billion sale to Cellnex of mobile phone masts across Europe, which included 6,600 UK assets.
However, the deal has been branded as a “clear attack on consumers” by Unite, which claims the dividend payment, shown in the company’s latest accounts, was made months before Three increased some of its contract prices by 14%.
Unite executive head of operations Sarah Carpenter said: “The siphoning of record dividends from Three while crying ‘failing firm’ to push through the harmful Vodafone merger is nothing short of cynical exploitation.
“This deal is a clear attack on consumers, threatening a staggering £300 hike in yearly mobile bills and putting 1,600 jobs on the line while making hollow promises about future investments.”
Carpenter added: “On top of that, entrusting vital blue light contracts to a Chinese state-influenced company raises alarming national security concerns. Unite continues to stand firm against this merger, fighting to protect the interests of workers, consumers, and the broader public.”