Hutchison to buy Telefonica unit O2 for £10.25b

Hong Kong

LI Ka-shing's Hutchison Whampoa Ltd has agreed to buy Telefonica's British mobile unit O2 for up to £10.25 billion (S$21 billion), as Asia's richest man makes his boldest bet yet to revamp his European telecoms business.

Hutchison already operates the Three Mobile network in Britain, and buying second-ranked O2 from the Spanish group in Mr Li's biggest ever takeover will make it the top mobile operator in the country.