BUSINESS LIVE: Bitcoin Reaches $100,000; Vodafone-Drie gets the green light; Frasers takes a hit for Budget

A gold miner backed by property magnate Nick Candy has bought a rival in a £90 million deal. Metals Exploration selected Condor Gold with an offer of £67.5 million in cash and shares.

Condor shareholders will also be entitled to £22.6 million in the future if gold production and resource targets are met.

The deal came after the Mail revealed that Metals Exploration – 38 percent owned by Candy – was prepared to respond with hostility with its offer.

Pascal St-Jean, CEO of global digital asset investment manager 3iQ:

‘Despite Bitcoin reaching $100,000 being a significant psychological threshold, the key takeaway from this event is that while Bitcoin is a bellwether for the broader digital asset class, the key takeaway is that this will increase the likelihood that more institutions and traditional financial investments in the sector. ‘This price increase is driven by the perception of an incoming crypto-friendly administration due to Donald Trump’s election victory, as well as an increase in the accessibility of digital assets to investors via the introduction of new Exchange Trade Products and greater regulatory clarity worldwide.

“Crypto is also becoming more widely accepted by governments around the world, who are now more accepting of the benefits it brings, namely financial inclusion.”

Britain’s competition watchdog has finally cleared the £15 billion merger between Vodafone UK and Hutchison’s Three UK.

It paves the way for the creation of the country’s largest mobile operator and reduces the number of networks from three to four.

The Competition and Markets Authority had previously said the deal could push up prices for customers, but later accepted that commitments on network investment and shorter-term protection for both residential and wholesale customers were enough to allay its concerns.

The CMA said: ‘We believe that the merger is likely to increase competition in the UK mobile sector and should be allowed to proceed, but only if Vodafone and Three agree to implement the measures we propose. ‘

Bitcoin has surged above the $100,000 mark as investors increasingly bet that Donald Trump’s White House will cement the cryptocurrency’s place in financial markets.

According to data provider CoinGecko, the total value of the cryptocurrency market has almost doubled in the past year to a record just under $3.8 trillion. By comparison, Apple alone is worth about $3.7 trillion.