Hutchison Whampoa will create Britain’s largest mobile network after agreeing a £10.3bn deal to acquire O2 in the UK from Spain’s Telefónica.

和记黄埔(Hutchison Whampoa)将缔造英国最大的移动通信网络，该集团已达成一笔103亿英镑的交易，收购西班牙电信(Telefónica)旗下英国移动运营商O2。

In its largest overseas deal, Hutchison will combine O2 with its Three mobile group to bring together 31m customers, or about 41 per cent of the UK wireless market.

这是和记黄埔在海外达成的最大一笔交易，该集团将把旗下英国移动公司Three与O2合并，打造一家客户达到3100万的运营商，约占英国移动通信市场的41%。

Hutchison is controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, who has overseen an aggressive push into UK infrastructure with a range of acquisitions in ports, rail and real estate.

和记黄埔是由香港亿万富翁李嘉诚(Li Ka-shing)控制的，近年李嘉诚积极投资于英国的基础设施，对港口、铁路和房地产进行了一系列收购。

In an announcement on Tuesday, Hutchison Whampoa said it had agreed terms to acquire O2 following exclusive discussions with Telefónica.

和记黄埔周二宣布，在与西班牙电信进行排他性讨论后，它已同意收购O2的条款。

The two groups said the deal would be subject to regulatory approvals that might take up to a year.

两家集团表示，此项交易将需要获得监管部门的批准，审批过程可能需要长达一年。

Hutchison could license the O2 brand in the UK to run alongside or instead of Three in future, according to one person familiar with the situation. However, he added that a final decision had not been made.

据一位知情人士透露，和记黄埔未来可能在英国授权使用O2品牌，让其与Three一起运行，或者取代Three。但他补充说，尚未作出最终决定。

“Subject to regulatory approval, the deal that has been agreed today will result in the creation of the most customer-centric mobile operator in the UK,” said Ronan Dunne, chief executive of O2 UK.

“在获得监管部门的批准后，今天达成的这笔交易将带来英国最以客户为中心的移动运营商，”O2英国首席执行官罗南•邓恩(Ronan Dunne)表示。

Hutchison will pay an initial £9.25bn, with an additional deferred payment of £1bn once the cumulative cash flow of the combined company in the UK reaches an agreed threshold.

和记黄埔最初将支付92.5亿英镑，一旦合并后的公司在英国的累计现金流达到约定的门槛，还将支付延期付款的10亿英镑。

Telefónica said it would use a substantial part of the proceeds to reduce debt.

西班牙电信表示，将利用很大一部分出售所得减少债务。

Hutchison Whampoa has been in exclusive talks to buy the business since January. Telefónica had previously been in negotiations about the sale of O2 to BT, which then decided instead to acquire EE from Deutsche Telekom and Orange.

和记黄埔自1月以来一直在就收购O2的事宜进行排他性谈判。西班牙电信此前曾就向英国电信(BT)出售O2展开谈判，后来BT转而决定从德国电信(Deutsche Telekom)和Orange收购另一家英国移动运营商EE。

The UK telecoms market will be transformed by the combination of O2 and Three as well as BT’s parallel acquisition of EE, the rival mobile group, which will be combined with its broadband and media businesses.

O2和Three的合并，加上BT对EE的收购（这家移动运营商将与BT的宽带和媒体业务相结合），将转变英国电信市场格局。

The deals have sparked a strategic rethink at rival groups keen to offer bundled deals of TV and telecoms. Vodafone will push aggressively into TV and broadband for the first time this year, while Sky has signed a deal to launch mobile services next year.

这两笔交易引发了强烈希望提供电视和电信服务套餐的竞争对手的战略反思。沃达丰(Vodafone)今年将首次大举进入电视和宽带市场，而Sky已签署一项协议，拟在明年推出移动服务。

Hutchison Whampoa is still in talks to sell a 30 per cent stake in the combined group — worth about £3bn — to sovereign wealth funds. Funds from Qatar, Singapore and Canada have been part of the conversations, according to one person with knowledge of the transaction.

和记黄埔仍在谈判将合并后集团的30%股份（价值约30亿英镑）出售给主权财富基金。据一名知情人士透露，卡塔尔、新加坡和加拿大的基金参与了洽谈。

The next focus for the group will be resolving any regulatory objections to removing one of only four mobile network operators in the UK, which analysts fear could lead to higher prices.

和记黄埔的下一个焦点将是消除监管机构对于英国移动网络运营商从四家减至三家的反对。分析师们担心，减少运营商数量可能导致价格升高。

The deal will be assessed by antitrust authorities in Brussels given the overseas ownership of both businesses, in spite of a desire among British regulators to be involved.

鉴于O2和Three两家都涉及海外所有权，这笔交易将受到欧盟反垄断当局的评估，尽管英国监管机构也渴望参与审批过程。