Australia regulator OKs Vodafone, Hutchison merger

The Australian competition watchdog has approved a merger of the Australian arms of mobile phone companies Vodafone and Hutchison Whampoa, the regulator said on Friday.

The Australian competition watchdog has approved a merger of the Australian arms of mobile phone companies Vodafone and Hutchison Whampoa, the regulator said on Friday.

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The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said the deal is unlikely to substantially lessen competition. In a deal announced on Feb 9, Vodafone’s Australian arm and Hutchison Telecom will form a joint venture operating under the Vodafone brand, with 6 million customers.

The new mobile operator will be of a sufficient scale to challenge the two dominant phone companies, incumbent Telstra Corp and Optus, a unit of Singapore Telecommunication, Vodafone and Hutchison said in February.