Vodafone Group and CK Hutchison Group Telecom, a unit of CK Hutchison Holdings (HKG:0001), have completed the merger of Vodafone UK and Three UK as of May 31, the companies said in a joint release on Monday.

The new entity, VodafoneThree, is 51% owned by Vodafone and 49% by CK Hutchison. Vodafone will consolidate the business in its financials. Vodafone UK's Max Taylor has been appointed CEO, while Three UK's Darren Purkis will serve as CFO.

VodafoneThree plans to invest 11 billion pounds sterling over 10 years to build a next-gen 5G standalone network.

The merged company expects to realize 700 million pounds in annual cost and capex synergies within five years. Vodafone also projects the deal to start contributing positively to its adjusted free cash flow from FY29 onwards, the release said.

Vodafone CEO Margherita Della Valle called the merger a "new force in UK mobile," while CK Hutchison's Canning Fok said it unlocks "significant shareholder value," returning 1.3 billion pounds in net cash to the group.

Announced in June 2023, the deal faced intense regulatory scrutiny. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority launched a phase 2 antitrust review in early 2024, before clearing the deal in early 2025 with conditions including network expansion, price caps, and fixed contract terms.

Shares of the Hong Kong conglomerate were up about 5% in recent trade on Tuesday.