A proposed £15billion mega-merger of cell giants Vodafone and Three has sparked fears a deal would result in punishing worth hikes.

Vodafone and Three’s proprietor, the Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Group, yesterday confirmed the plan.

If accredited, the deal would create the UK’s greatest cell agency, with 27 million clients and greater than 11,500 employees.

Margherita Della Valle, boss of Vodafone, stated the tie-up is “great for customers, the country and competition”.

The two corporations mixed would prime Virgin Media O2’s 24 million clients and EE’s 20 million – they usually have pledged to speculate £11billion within the UK over the subsequent 10 years to create one among Europe’s greatest 5G networks.

Vodafone would personal 51 p.c and CK Hutchison the rest, with a buyout choice for Vodafone three years on from the deal, if the agency’s value is a minimum of £16.5billion.

The scale of the deal is more likely to set off an in-depth probe by the Competition and Markets Authority.

Ernest Doku, telecoms skilled at Uswitch.com, stated that with such mergers, “there’s always the risk of reduced competition and subsequent increased prices”.

Rocio Concha, of shopper group Which?, stated: “Reducing the number of providers from four to three risks reducing choices available while raising prices and lowering the quality of services available.”

Gail Cartmail, of the union Unite, stated: “This deal will give a company with deep ties to the Chinese state an even more prominent place at the heart of the UK’s telecoms infrastructure.

“It will hike people’s bills and mean job losses… Unite is building a cross-party coalition to demand the [Government steps in to stop this].”

Vodafone final month introduced 11,000 of its employees would lose their jobs over the subsequent three years.