Vodafone said to be mulling T-Mobile UK bid

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By Chris Williams • Get more from this author

Posted in Mobile, 29th June 2009 09:04 GMT

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Vodafone is mulling a multibillion-pound swoop for T-Mobile UK, according to a report.

T-Mobile UK's German owner Deutsche Telekom has appointed JPMorgan to advise on how to offload the business, The Financial Times reports. Talk of a Teutonic retreat from the British mobile market intensified last month when T-Mobile UK's poor performance forced its parent company to issue a profits warning.

If Vodafone were to launch a successful bid - it's "examining the case for making an offer" according to the FT's "people familiar with the situation" - the combined firm would control 40 per cent of the market. It would overtake O2, currently in the lead with a 27 per cent share.

A second option, also reportedly under consideration, would be for Vodafone to take control of T-Mobile UK in a joint venture with 3's parent company Hutchison Whampoa.

Either way, competition regulators would be obliged to closely examine the deal.

As per, none of the parties reportedly involved would comment. ®

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