Vodafone says Three UK merger will not require shareholder approval

Telecommunications giant Vodafone said on Monday that its proposed merger with Three UK would not require shareholder approval under new UK listing rules.

Vodafone said the deal was classified as a "significant transaction", meaning a vote "will no longer be required", following new listing rules that came into force on 29 July that stated a significant transition can be completed without shareholder approval so long as both companies comply with enhanced disclosure requirements.

The FTSE 100-listed group also said the deal was expected to have a "broadly neutral" impact on its net debt to adjusted profit ratio, and was also expected to be accretive to adjusted free cash flow from the fourth full year onwards and increase total assets and liabilities.

However, Vodafone noted that the transaction may still be blocked by the Competition and Markets Authority after the watchdog raised several concerns earlier in September, ahead of its final decision on 7 December.

Separately, Vodafone added that the disposal of its Italian operations to Swisscom had also been classified as a "significant transaction".

As of 0940 BST, Vodafone shares were down 0.29% at 75.40p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com