Three is apparently getting ready to bid £9 billion on O2

Before Christmas a story broke that BT wanted to up its game in the mobile world, and was having to choose between buying O2 or EE. Another smaller rumours popped up claiming that the people who own Three were considering buying the network that BT didn’t want. Now that BT has formally declared that it plans to purchase EE, that sale might end up happening.

According to the Sunday Times, Hutchison Whampoa, the company that owns Three, is preparing a £9 billion bid to purchase O2 from Telefonica. The talks are still in the early stages, but apparently it has called upon investment bank UBS AG to investigate the viability of the deal.

This isn’t be the first time the two have had dealings either, since Three purchased the Irish branch of O2 in 2013 for €780 million. In comparison that price certainly sounds like a bargain.

It’s strange times for mobile networks, and if Three and O2 were to merge the resulting network would have more customers than EE and Vodafone. Of course should the sale go ahead it will need to be approved by regulatory bodies, and that might not be as easy as it sounds.

We’ll just have to wait, and we’ll update you if we hear any more news.