BT deal to acquire O2 'imminent'
BT Group, an FTSE-100 telecoms company, is about to agree the acquisition of Telefonica’s O2 UK mobile network, according to a Daily Mail report. The newspaper cited sources familiar with the talks who last night, 9 December said a deal is “imminent.”
BT is in discussions to acquire O2 or rival EE, owned by French rival Orange and German competitor Deutsche Telekom.
An agreed deal to acquire O2 could be announced as soon as this week, the item said.
All of the companies involved declined to comment, according to the report.
A Financial Times report said BT held a board meeting yesterday, 9 December to discuss whether to go ahead with a bid for either O2 or EE. The newspaper cited one person familiar with the talks who said BT executives have informed investors that buying O2 would be a simpler transaction than acquiring EE. O2’s mobile spectrum is more suitable for BT and O2’s brand is considered stronger, the item said.
EE would be the more expensive of the two potential deals, the article said, citing EE’s larger network and customer base, the report continued. Orange and Deutsche Telekom’s joint ownership of EE might make a deal more complicated, the article added.
All parties refused to comment, the FT report said.
A report in The Times also said BT is likely to announce whether it will bid for O2 or EE by the weekend. The report went on to cite industry insiders who suggested that BT considers O2 to be its main takeover target.
O2 would probably sell for about GBP 10bn (EUR 12.67bn), The Times article estimated.
A Daily Telegraph report cited unspecified sources who said BT is hoping to agree a deal for O2 or EE before Christmas and to conduct due diligence swiftly.
Source Daily Mail, Financial Times, The Times