Newbury, England – Second-ranked UK mobile telco, Vodafone is reportedly eyeing T-Mobile in a bid to become the UK’s number one mobile provider.
Vodafone currently has a quarter of the UK market and T-Mobile – owned by Deutsche Telekom – 15 percent. If the deal is given the nod by telecom regulators, it would make Vodafone the dominant UK mobile player and relegate current market leader O2 to second place.
Vodafone refused to confirm or deny the possibility of a deal, but T-Mobile’s parent company has appointed JP Morgan to report on ‘strategic options’, claims UK daily the Financial Times.
Vodafone is currently implementing a $1.7 billion cost cutting plan, having seen profits drop by more than 50 percent on last year to $6.9 million.
