UK's Virgin Media and O2 to merge in $38 billion deal

Liberty Global and Telefonica are merging their U.K operations.

What you need to know

• Two of the UK's biggest telecoms companies are merging.
• O2 and Virgin Media are joining forces in a 50-50 venture.
• The deal is said to be worth some 31 billion ($38 billion).

Telefonica has today announced that it is merging its U.K operations with Liberty Global, meaning that Virgin Media and O2 are coming together in a 50-50 joint venture.

A press release from the company:

Liberty Global and Telefonica to merge their U.K. operations creating the leading fixed-mobile provider in the country

Key Highlights

50-50 joint venture brings together Virgin Media, the U.K.'s fastest broadband network, and O2, the country's largest mobile platform

Combination creates a stronger fixed and mobile competitor in the U.K. market, supporting the expansion of Virgin Media's giga-ready network and O2's 5G mobile deployment for the benefit of consumers, businesses and the public sector

The release notes that the merger will result in 10 billion worth of investments in the UK over the next five years. CEO of Telefonica, Jose Maria Alvareze-Pallete said:

"Combining O2's number one mobile business with Virgin Media's superfast broadband network and entertainment services will be a game-changer in the U.K., at a time when demand for connectivity has never been greater or more critical. We are creating a strong competitor with significant scale and financial strength to invest in UK digital infrastructure and give millions of consumer, business and public sector customers more choice and value. This is a proud and exciting moment for our organisations, as we create a leading integrated communications provider in the U.K."

Twitter was rightly less enthused at the prospect:

BREAKING: O2 and Virgin Media will combine to create Britain's biggest broadband complaints department .

- ????? (@Skuby1968) May 7, 2020