Vodafone to buy CK Hutchison out of VodafoneThree venture for £4.3bn

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: “Vodafone is to buy out its partner on the VodafoneThree joint venture in a £4.3 billion deal.

“The transaction signals a new lease of life for a business that was bloated with debt and struggled with low growth.

“That led to Vodafone selling or exiting various operations to simplify the group structure and regain focus.

“There are now tentative signs of improvement both operationally and financially, putting it in a better position to mount a comeback.

“VodafoneThree has decent scale in the UK and is enjoying good broadband growth, and Vodafone clearly sees an opportunity to accelerate growth efforts by having full control.

“The UK mobile and broadband market is highly competitive, and Vodafone needs to be agile to stay one step ahead.”