:Vodafone and CK Hutchison are close to agreeing to a 15 billion pounds (about $19 billion) combination of their UK telecoms businesses that would create the country's biggest mobile operator, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
The deal will value the equity of the combined group at about 9 billion pounds, with roughly 6 billion pounds of debt, the FT said, citing three people familiar with the matter.
The agreement is expected to be unveiled this month, the report said.
The combination could also enable Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison to withdraw from the UK telecoms market, the newspaper added. However, it added that no agreement has been finalized and circumstances may still change.
Vodafone and CK Hutchison did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. ($1 = 0.7948 pounds)