LONDON -It has taken months of tortuous negotiations for Vodafone and CK Hutchison to agree a deal to create Britain's biggest mobile operator, but from a regulatory standpoint the hard work is only just beginning. The $19 billion tie-up will be scrutinized by Britain's Competition and Markets Authority, the antitrust regulator which made global headlines in April when it blocked Microsoft's $69-billion acquisition of 'Call of Duty' maker Activision Blizzard. The long-awaited mobile deal reduces the number of networks from four to three, challenging a tenet long held by regulators that four help to keep prices low in major markets.

https://business.inquirer.net/405501/vodafone-and-hutchisons-uk-mobile-merger-faces-tough-test-yet

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