The sale negotiations are reportedly at an advanced stage and could be valued at up to €1.5bn.

Three Ireland-owner CK Hutchison is reportedly in talks to sell the mobile operator to Liberty Global, the multinational telecommunications giant that owns Virgin Media.

The Financial Times reported that the sale negotiations are at an advanced stage and could be valued at up to €1.5bn. SiliconRepublic.com has reached out to Three Ireland for comments.

The potential sale comes as the Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison is eyeing an IPO of its telecoms assets, the publication wrote. The company’s telecom arm operates mobile networks in the UK, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Austria and Ireland.

In 2023, CK Hutchison explored merging its Danish and Swedish business with Scandinavian telecoms group Telenor, which hasn’t yet materialised.

Last year, it successfully closed a £16.5bn merger deal, combining Three UK with Vodafone UK. The joint venture is called ‘VodafoneThree’ and is 51pc owned by Vodafone and 49pc by CK Hutchison.

The conglomerate, which also has operations in ports, retail, infrastructure and financial services, is also reportedly eyeing a dual IPO listing of its retail arm in Hong Kong and London with a $30bn valuation.

Sources told the Financial Times that any sales of its units are not expected to affect a potential IPO process. Although, IPO plans could still be scrapped.

Meanwhile, Liberty Global owns Virgin Media, including the commercial broadcast channels under Virgin Media Television, alongside broadband and mobile services. Liberty also owns Telenet in Belgium and co-owns Virgin Media O2 – along with Telefónica – in the UK.

The company co-owns VodafoneZiggo in the Netherlands in a joint venture alongside Vodafone. Last year, it was reported that Liberty was looking to buy out Vodafone’s stake in the venture.

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