Efforts of billionaire-industrialist Li Ka-shing to spur consolidation in the European telecommunications market will likely accelerate, after Hong Kong’s richest man completes the restructuring of his two flagship companies. Under the reorganisation of Cheung Kong and Hutchison Whampoa announced last Friday, a new conglomerate called CK Hutchison Holdings will hold all non-property businesses, including telecommunications, retail, infrastructure, energy, aircraft leasing, and ports and related services. Canning Fok Kin-ning, the managing director at Hutchison Whampoa since 1993, told a separate press briefing on the same day that the focus on telecommunications expansion would be unchanged under this restructuring. “In Europe, we are doing telecommunications consolidation. This is a top priority for us,” Fok said. “We’ve done two [acquisitions in the continent]. There’s some more to come.” Fok will serve as co-managing director at CKH Holdings with Victor Li Tzar-kuoi, Li’s elder son who has been managing director at Cheung Kong since 1999. The corporate revamp is expected to be completed in June, following regulatory and shareholder approvals. “Hutchison Whampoa has been an agent of consolidation in Europe, where the company has considerably bulked up its presence,” said Steven Hartley, the practice leader for service provider and markets at London-based business intelligence firm Ovum. “O2’s assets in the UK are probably top of the list [for CKH Holdings] as the debt-burdened Telefonica Group has openly stated its intent to shuffle its holdings. Given that O2 missed out on courting BT, there’s the potential for a deal there.” In July last year, Hutchison completed its 780 million euro (HK$7.16 billion) takeover of Spanish group Telefonica’s O2 mobile business in Ireland. It is set to make 70 million euros in deferred payment upon reaching certain financial targets. Prior to that acquisition, Hutchison had spent more than 800 million euros in developing its Irish mobile operations. The company closed its 1.3 billion euro purchase of wireless carrier Orange Austria in January 2013.Chris Lane, a senior analyst at Bernstein Research, said CKH Holdings “will likely be looking at options in Italy to acquire Wind Telecomunicazioni”.Hutchison’s “3 Group Europe” telecommunications operations – comprising Italy, Britain, Sweden, Denmark, Austria and Ireland – had 26.9 million customers as of June 30 last year. Jonas Kan, head of Hong Kong research at Daiwa Capital Markets, pointed out that the bigger CKH would put Li at an advantage in making a sizable new telecommunications network-related purchase. “The larger balance sheet of CKH should strengthen its ability to capitalise on any consolidation opportunity in Europe,” Kan said. Hutchison saw its liquid assets increase 18 per cent to HK$120.82 billion in the first half last year, up from HK$102.79 billion a year earlier. Under Li’s corporate restructuring, CKH Holdings will add infrastructure assets currently owned by Cheung Kong.