By Elena Vardon


The U.K. competition regulator is referring Vodafone Group's planned joint venture of its U.K. operations with Three U.K. for a more in-depth review.

The Competition and Markets Authority said Thursday that it is referring the deal--which seeks to combine two of the four U.K. mobile network operators--for a phase 2 investigation after both parties said they wouldn't be offering any undertakings.

In June, Vodafone and CK Hutchison Holdings' Three agreed to merge their U.K. operations, valuing the new business at more than 7 billion pounds ($8.86 billion).

Last month, the watchdog said that the merger could lead to higher prices for customers and impact investment in U.K. mobile networks.

Write to Elena Vardon at elena.vardon@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-04-24 0227ET