CK Hutchison preps telco spin-off – report

• CK Hutchison has telecom operator assets in Europe and Asia
• The conglomerate is reportedly planning to spin off those telco assets – the crown jewel being 3 Group Europe – into a separate company listed in London
• The business could be valued at up to £15bn

Li Ka-shing’s Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings is making a lot of headlines right now over its plan to sell its ports assets (including those on the Panama Canal) to private equity firm BlackRock, a move that appears to be in jeopardy following reported pressure from China. But it’s also reportedly lining up another major move – the spin-off of its telco businesses into a separate company that would be listed on the London Stock Exchange, according to Reuters.   

The news agency reports that plans are already in motion and talks are underway with financial advisors to combine the company’s telecom units across Europe and Asia into a separate standalone company that could command a valuation of up to £15bn (€18bn/$19.4bn).

The main rump of the company would be CK Hutchison Group Telecom, which comprises three key businesses. 

The main one is 3 Group Europe, which has operations in Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Sweden and the UK, where mobile operator Three UK is about to merge with Vodafone UK. 

Then there is a majority stake (66%) in mobile operator Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings (HTHKH), which offers mobile services in Hong Kong and Macau. 

The third unit is CKH Innovation Opportunities Development (CKH IOD), which develops customised wireless and data solutions (including private mobile networks and internet of things networks) for enterprise users. 

In 2024, CK Hutchison Group Telecom generated revenues of almost €10.5bn, up by 3% year on year, and an operating profit of €526m, up by 26%. Approximately 92% of the revenues came from the 3 Group Europe operations. 

At the end of 2024, 3 Group Europe had 42.8 million customers, with the largest operation in the group being Italy’s Wind Tre with 18.8 million mobile as well as 2.9 million fixed line customers. HTHKH ended last year with almost 5.76 million customers.  

In addition to CK Hutchison Group Telecom, Li Ka-shing’s telecom assets also include  Hutchison Asia Telecom (HAT) Group, which has interests in Indonesia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.  

The HAT Group includes the company’s 32.8% stake in Indonesia’s second-largest telco Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH), which HAT Group jointly controls with the Ooredoo Group following the 2022 merger of Indosat Ooredoo and PT Hutchison 3 Indonesia. IOH has more than 100 million customers and recently reported a 9.1% increase in annual revenues. 

It is also a major shareholder in Vietnamobile in Vietnam, which is the country’s smallest mobile operator, with a 2% to 3% share of a market of about 100 million users. HAT Group also owns Hutchison Telecommunications Lanka (Hutch Sri Lanka), which is the island state’s third-largest mobile operator with about 3.6 million customers and a market share of around 15%.  

Li Ka-shing’s company hasn’t confirmed the spin-off plans, but it’ll be interesting to see what is included and what kind of value such a business might attract if  CK Hutchison Holdings goes ahead with the plan. 

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV