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UK: Li Ka-shing’s Hutchison says may sell stake to fund takeover

By  |  March 17, 2016

CK Hutchison Holdings, the ports-to-telecoms arm of Asia’s richest man Li Ka-shing, said it may sell a stake in its UK phone carrier Three to help fund its proposed $15 billion takeover of rival operator O2 UK.

In an exchange filing on Thursday, CK Hutchison said it was considering selling a stake in Three to a “new investor” to reduce the new cash investment required to purchase O2, without naming the potential buyer.

CK Hutchison agreed in January last year to buy Telefonica’s British mobile unit O2 for up to 10.25 billion pounds but the deal has run into regulatory hurdles. To overcome that Hutchison has offered some concessions..

Among them Hutchison has offered to sell 30 percent of the merged network’s capacity, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Full content: Gulf Times

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