Virgin Media & O2’s £31 billion merger approved to go ahead

Virgin Media and O2’s £31 billion merger has been approved to go ahead by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

The merger will see O2’s 36.6 million customers and Virgin Media’s 5.7 million cable users and 3.4 million mobile subscribers, come together. Employees from both companies will sit under under the same umbrella company.

Mike Fries, chief executive of Virgin Media’s owner Liberty Global, and José Maria Alvarez-Pallete, chief executive of Telefonica, was cited in The Sun saying the regulatory approval is a “watershed moment in the history of telecommunications”.

They added, “We are now cleared to bring real choice where it hasn’t existed before, while investing in fibre and 5G that the UK needs to thrive.

“We thank the CMA for conducting a thorough and efficient review.”

O2 is the UK’s largest phone company, providing the network for GiffGaff, Tesco Mobile and Sky Mobile.