BT has finalised the £12.5bn acquisition of EE, Britain’s largest mobile network, from Deutsche Telekom and France’s Orange after several weeks of exclusive negotiations.
The British telecoms group will announce the deal as early as Thursday morning, said two people close to the situation, marking the return of the company to the mainstream mobile market for the first time since 2001.
A process of due diligence has been completed with no major issues uncovered, said those close to the talks.
BT has been in exclusive discussions with Deutsche Telekom and Orange since December to acquire EE for £12.5bn.
Analysts do not expect any significant regulatory hurdles because BT’s fixed network — which carries mobile traffic for rivals — is already closely governed by Ofcom, the telecoms watchdog.
Rivals might argue that wholesale prices for access to BT’s fibre network should be monitored more closely and potentially reduced.
A Moody’s analyst note has said it expects the deal to bring cost savings and efficiencies in areas such as procurement, distribution, marketing, head offices and call centres. –
EE has the largest subscriber base in the UK at 24m, the largest holding of spectrum used for mobile services and the most developed 4G network in the country. The deal will allow BT to sell bundles of mobile and home phone, broadband and television to customers.
The acquisition will be financed with about £6.3bn in shares given to Deutsche Telekom and Orange in the combined group, and about £6.2bn to be paid in cash, which will be raised through debt and an equity issuance.
BT is planning to raise £1bn-£2bn in an equity placing with shareholders, said a person familiar with the