Vodafone was apparently planning on buying Phones 4U

Phones 4U went into administration a couple of days ago, primarily down to both Vodafone and EE severing their ties with the high-street store. Well now it appears that both Vodafone and EE were considering a takeover of the company earlier this year.

According to Sky News Vodafone and EE were talking to Phones 4U as recently as June, with Vodafone reportedly considering a solo purchase if EE were to back out of the arrangement. Of course, that never happened and Vodafone claims it was never really an option “for regulatory and commercial reasons.”

Speaking to The Guardian, Phone 4U’s founder said that the networks force the company into an awkward position, using “astonishingly ruthless” tactics, which he claims was to try and force consumers to buy higher priced contracts directly from the network.

It’s awful that such a thing has happened to Phones 4U, especially since it seems Vodafone and EE pulled out of the company because they weren’t able to take direct control.

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Tom Pritchard