Li Ka-shing of Three raises £1.4bn ahead of 5G expansion
THE billionaire behind the Three mobile network has netted £1.4bn from the sale of a chunk of his telecoms empire.
Li Ka-shing has offloaded Hutchison Global Communications, which runs fixed-line and Wi-fi services, to American private equity group I Squared Capital for Hk$14.5bn (£1.4bn). The unit being sold operates in Hong Kong and China as well as serving businesses in Europe, the Middle East and the Americas. It means the tycoon’s Hutchison Telecommunications can focus more closely on providing mobile services, including in Britain.
Three has big plans to invest in the UK to blanket cities with a 5G service, providing ultra-fast wireless broadband, which it hopes will encourage households to scrap their fixed-line internet connections.
The funds from this sale could be allocated to develop this plan further. Mr Li’s plans depend on him being able to buy a large enough slice of the spectrum which will be sold in anticipation of the development of a 5G service.
He has sought to have a tighter cap imposed on the amount of spectrum any one network provider can buy, which would close off rival bids and make it easier for Three to snap up spectrum. A meeting with the Prime Minister failed to deliver this outcome, so Three has appealed to regulator Ofcom to reconsider its plan to allow any network to have up to 37pc of the spectrum. Mr Li wants the limit cut to 30pc.
Earlier this month, Three said it was considering a judicial review of the current framework which could delay the move into 5G across the UK.
However, the company has also run into trouble in recent months. In March it admitted that a total of 210,200 customers were affected by a data breach in 2016, up 27pc on the company’s initial estimate.
Fraudsters had gained access to an upgrade database in the company’s computer system. In a different case, last month regulators fined the network £1.9m after discovering a failure in its systems could have left customers unable to call the emergency services.
The agreement to sell Hutchison Global Communications still needs to be approved at an extraordinary general meeting of its immediate parent Hutchison Telecommunications’ shareholders.
However, that is mostly owned by CK Hutchison Holdings, of which Mr Li, Asia’s richest man, is chairman, and it has undertaken to approve the sale.
“Through the transaction, Hutchison Telecommunications will receive substantial proceeds which will enable [it] to continue to invest and strengthen its leading market position in the mobile business,” the company said.
Mr Li also controls other British assets which amount to a value of around £40bn, as his companies own the port at Felixstowe, Northumbrian Water and the retailer Superdrug.