• CK Hutchison, through its CKH Innovations Opportunities Development unit (CKH IOD), and Telefonica launch strategic partnership.
• The collaboration allows Telefonica and CKHH’s 3 Group Europe to serve large enterprises in their respective footprints and will be initially deployed in Italy through Wind Tre.

London/Madrid, 4 March 2019.- CK Hutchison Holdings Limited (CK Hutchison or CKHH), the renowned multinational conglomerate, and Telefónica, one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world, have agreed to join forces to offer fixed, mobile and other digital communications solutions to large enterprises and multinational companies (MNCs) .

The partnership harnesses the two groups’ complementary geographic footprints and extensive telecoms customer bases across the world.

Telefónica and CKH IOD have agreed that the focus for joint commercial cooperation will be to serve MNCs and large enterprises in their respective footprints and support them in their digital transformation initiatives. Both groups will leverage their product portfolios and sales teams to enhance their joint capability to provide high-quality solutions in these markets.

As part of the agreement, CKHH’s 3 Group Europe will join another 10 operators already in the Telefonica’s Partners Program with operations in 65 countries and a total of 1.8bn customers. It will be initially deployed in Italy through Wind Tre, followed by the 3 Group’s telecoms operations in Austria, Denmark, Ireland and Sweden.

Susan Buttsworth, CEO of CKH IOD, said: “Within CKH IOD (www.ckhiod.com) we are constantly exploring new ways to build on and strengthen our existing enterprise and MNC capabilities. This partnership with Telefonica is key to this growth strategy. It enhances our own capabilities across our territories, gives us access to a world-class suite of digital solutions and enables our customers to access services through Telefonica’s footprint in the rest of Europe and Latin America as well as through the other operators in the Partner Program”.

Jacobo García-Palencia, global director of Strategic Alliances at Telefónica, said: “We are very pleased with the alliance with CKH IOD, its amazing track record and the synergies that will create. It will reinforce our Partners Program as a way to jointly capture the opportunities that digital transformation offers our customers. We are confident that this agreement will bring important benefits to both our Groups and continue to enhance our strong network of telco partners across the world”.

Telefónica and CKHH agreed not to collaborate in any way in the UK, where they continue to operate and compete independently.