Hutchison in talks to buy O2 UK for £10bn

Li Ka-shing’s Hutchison Whampoa has agreed to buy Telefonica’s British mobile unit O2 for up to £10.25bn (€13.7bn), 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 (as the company has done in Ireland) in Li’s biggest ever takeover will make it the top mobile operator in the country.

The company made its first forays into European telecoms markets in 2000, but returns from the business have lagged other parts of Li’s ports-to-property empire.