HONG KONG (Reuters) - CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd said on Tuesday Italian authorities had approved its formation of a joint venture with VimpelCom (NASDAQ:VIP) Ltd to own and operate mobile telecommunications businesses in Italy.
The venture will be equally-owned by Hutchison's 3 Italia and VimpelCom's WIND Acquisition Holdings Finance, and the deal is expected to be completed before the end of December, the conglomerate said in a filing to the Hong Kong bourse.
Earlier in September, the EU approved the 21.8 billion euro (20.10 billion pounds) deal combining Hutchison's 3 Italia with VimpelCom's Wind, putting them in a better position to compete with rivals Telecom Italia (MI:TLIT) and Vodafone Italia, part of Vodafone Group (LON:VOD).