Deutsche Telekom and Orange confirm sale of mobile joint venture EE to BT

• British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) agrees without conditions
• Deutsche Telekom to receive a 12-percent stake in BT
• Closing planned for end of January

Deutsche Telekom and the French company Orange S.A. can sell their British mobile joint venture EE as planned to BT Group plc. The British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has now granted its final approval. No conditions are attached. The three companies involved have confirmed the closing of the transaction for the end of January 2016, enabling the creation of the UK's premier integrated telecommunications provider.

With EE, Deutsche Telekom and Orange are introducing the UK's leading mobile company into the BT Group. EE covers more than 93 percent of the population with 4G, serves more than 31 million customers across its mobile, fixed and wholesale business, and is growing strongly, especially in terms of 4G customers. BT Group is the leading provider in the fixed network business with its own broadband market share of around 32 percent and strong growth both in broadband lines and in its TV business.

Integrating the two companies will provide UK customers with innovative, seamless services that combine the power of fibre broadband with Wi-Fi and advanced mobile capabilities. This combination is expected to result in considerable synergies, in terms of cost advantages on the one hand, and also revenue synergies from integrated offers for customers on the other. Deutsche Telekom’s CEO Timotheus Höttges says: "We look forward to supporting BT with relevant expertise to help generate the anticipated value growth of its integrated business model. With the bundled MagentaEINS product portfolio in Germany and the respective integrated Magenta bundles in Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Macedonia, Deutsche Telekom has gathered wide-ranging experience with integrated offers comprising fixed network and mobile products for 3 million customers to date."

In return for its 50-percent stake in EE, Deutsche Telekom will receive a stake of 12 percent in BT's share capital, and thus participates in the company’s value creation. Since the deal was announced on February 5, 2015, the BT share has gained around 10 percent. In addition, a representative of Deutsche Telekom will be appointed to the BT Board in due course.

full press release (EN)