A proposed merger between Vodafone and Sky TV has been denied by the Commerce Commission this morning. He added that about half of all households in New Zealand had Sky TV and a large number of those were Sky Sport customers. The merger would have seen Sky TV buy Vodafone NZ for $3.44 billion, funded by a payment of $1.25b in cash and the issue of new Sky TV shares at a price of $5.40 per share. Vodafone would in turn become a 51 per cent majority shareholder in Sky TV, in what amounts to a reverse takeover. What the Commerce Commission needed to consider:• Is the merger likely to substantially reduce competition in a market?

Source: Otago Daily Times February 22, 2017 20:15 UTC