Vodafone and 3 merge in Australia

February 10, 2017

Network operators Vodafone and Hutchinson Whampoa, the parent company of 3, have merged their operations in Australia, in a bid to heat up the competition with rival providers Optus and Telstra.

Vodafone chief executive Vittorio Colao said: “This transaction will benefit customers in Australia as it creates a company with the necessary scale to compete strongly in the mobile market.”

The new company – named VHA – will have a 26% market share with 6 million customers and a combined revenue of AUS$4 billion per year – roughly the same as Optus but still far behind Telstra, which has a 40% market share.

It will be jointly owned by Vodafone and 3.

Hong Kong-based Hutchinson Whampoa’s willingness to give up control in Australia has fuelled speculation that a similar move is likely in the UK, where the 3 network has just four million customers.

Vodafone, however, played down the rumour. A spokesperson for the company said: “This is just about Australia. It has no bearing on the UK.”