Britain's BT in Talks to Buy EE for $19B
BT on Monday confirmed is has entered exclusive talks to buy U.K. mobile operator EE from Germany's Deutsche Telekom and France's Orange for 12.5 billion pounds ($19.5 billion) in cash and shares.
In a statement, BT said the deal will allow it to 'accelerate its existing mobility strategy' and offer 'innovative, seamless services that combine the power of fiber broadband, Wi-Fi, and 4G.' BT added that the deal will result in the 'U.K.'s most advanced 4G network, giving it greater control in terms of future investment and product innovation.'
This is not a done deal, however. 'The exclusivity agreement does not require the parties to enter into a transaction and there can be no assurances that one will occur,' BT said.
If the companies agree to move forward with the transaction, BT's shareholders would need to approve it. Under the current terms of the deal, Deutsche Telekom would gain a 12 percent stake in BT and be entitled to appoint one member to the BT Board while Orange would hold a 4 percent stake.
While continuing the discussions, BT said it will keep moving forward with its plans to provide mobile services for consumers and businesses, and is confident it can deliver them even if the EE deal falls through.
Deutsche Telekom, meanwhile, is also the parent company of T-Mobile here in the U.S. Earlier this year, it tried to offload T-Mobile to Sprint, but to no avail.
Rumors of the BT acquisition first cropped up last month when EE confirmed early discussions with BT, tipping a possible partnership between two of the country's largest tech firms. That announcement followed earlier rumors that BT was in talks to acquire O2, the mobile business it sold to Telefonica for £17.7 billion almost a decade ago.
In 2012, U.K. regulators awarded highly coveted 4G spectrum to EE, allowing EE to be the first provider to offer 4G service in the U.K.
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