Slaughter and May advised Vodafone Group Plc on the UK and EU competition law aspects and the UK national security aspects of the proposed joint venture between Vodafone UK and Three UK (the “Transaction”).
Following an in-depth Phase 2 investigation, the Competition and Markets Authority announced on 5 December 2024 that it had cleared the Transaction based on certain remedies offered by the parties, which include investments in infrastructure that will boost competition between mobile network operators in the long term.
The European Commission announced on 7 December 2023 that it had cleared the transaction unconditionally under the EU Merger Regulation following a Phase 1 investigation.
On 9 May 2024, the UK government announced it had cleared the Transaction subject to certain conditions under the National Security and Investment Act.