Mobile giant Telefonica have accepted a bid from 3 owners Hutchison for O2 Ireland’s mobile business.

The deal would result in a rapid increase in market share in Ireland for the operators of 3, with a rise to 37.5 percent with the acquisition of O2’s share. By acquiring O2’s market share, 3 would be placed just behind Vodafone, as the second largest operator in the country.

Hutchison is in the process of moving forward with European expansion, having recently bought Orange Austria from France Telecom and entered into talks Telecom Italia regarding a potential merger.

While the deal has yet to receive approval from the EU competition commission, approval would allow Telefonica to regain significant funds as part of the telecommunications company’s goal to reduce overall debt by €5 billion by the end of 2013.

Telefonica has incurred debts in recent years from investment in Central American expansion, with the O2’s Irish division’s profits down 12 percent from the same time last year.

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