The boards of UK electronics retailers Carphone Warehouse and Dixons have agreed on a merger of the two companies, in what is pitched as a tie-up focusing on connectivity and the internet of things.

Carphone Warehouse chairman Sir Charles Dunstone said the merger will bring together skills from both companies to create “a new retailer for the digital age”.

Speaking at the announcement of the deal, Dunstone said: “What we’re trying to do here is to build a business that is appropriate for our customers and relevant for suppliers because someone needs to solve that problem of how you sell these devices and how you help people get them connected and how you support them to get the most out of technology.”

Dixons CEO Sebastian James said the new company will be “totally unique” in global retailing, in that it will “deliver the connectivity, the products, and above all the services that make people’s lives better.”

“There is currently no retailer on the planet who is really committed to telling the story about internet connected devices and how to make them work in your home. We will be that retailer,” James added.

Dunstone will become chairman of the new Dixons Carphone while James will be CEO of the new company.

Ownership will be split 50:50 between the shareholders of each company with Dixons shareholders set to receive 0.155 shares in exchange for each share they hold.

The two boards believe the merger will deliver “significant value to shareholders through a combination of enhanced commercial opportunities and operator synergies”.

The integration of mobile retailing and procurement synergies are expected to deliver cost savings of at least £80 million on a recurring basis, expected to be achieved in full during the 2017/18 financial year.

The merger still depends on the approval of the shareholders of both companies and clearance by antitrust regulators.