Last checked at 
(Adds further details)
By Pushkala Aripaka and Paul Sandle
May 20 (Reuters) - Britain's competition regulator cleared a
$44 billion merger between broadband company Virgin Media and
Telefonica's UK mobile network O2 on Thursday, after a
months-long review.
Virgin owner Liberty Global and Spain's Telefonica
agreed the merger a year ago, creating a powerhouse in broadband
and mobile to take on market leader BT.
"After looking closely at the deal, we are reassured that
competition amongst mobile communications providers will remain
strong and it is therefore unlikely that the merger would lead
to higher prices or lower quality services," Martin Coleman of
the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said.
The companies said the deal, which values O2 at 12.7 billion
pounds and Virgin Media at 18.7 billion pounds to give the new
group a combined value of 31.4 billion pounds ($44.4 billion)
including debt, is expected to close by June 1.
"This is a watershed moment in the history of
telecommunications in the UK as we are now cleared to bring real
choice where it hasn't existed before, while investing in fibre
and 5G that the UK needs to thrive," Liberty Global CEO Mike
Fries and his Telefonica counterpart José Maria Alvarez-Pallete
said in a joint statement following the CMA approval.
The 50:50 joint venture, which will be led by Virgin Media
boss Lutz Schüler, will have 11 billion pounds of annual
revenue, the two owners said.
The CMA had been concerned about the possible impact of the
merger on the mobile market given that both companies sold
wholesale services to other operators.
However it gave the deal provisional approval last month
after concluding that the presence of other players in the
market offering rival services, such as BT and Vodafone, would
maintain competition.
($1 = 0.7079 pounds)
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru and Paul Sandle in
London; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Carmel Crimmins and
Alexander Smith)
