U.K. CMA Clears BT's GBP12.5 Billion Acquisition of EE
January 15 2016 - 1:57AM
Dow Jones News
By Ian Walker
LONDON--The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority said Friday
it has cleared BT Group PLC (BT.A.LN)'s 12.5 billion pound ($18
billion) acquisition of EE Ltd. as it believes the deal won't
result in a substantial lessening of competition.
The CMA said BT and EE operate largely in separate areas, with
BT strong in supplying fixed communications services (voice,
broadband and pay TV), EE strong in supplying mobile communications
services, and limited overlap between them in both categories of
service.
"Since our provisional findings, we have taken extra time to
consider responses in detail but the evidence does not show that
this merger is likely to cause significant harm to competition or
the interests of consumers," John Wotton, Inquiry Chair, said.
BT said it welcomed the decision, adding that it paves the way
for BT to complete the acquisition from Deutsche Telekom AG of
Germany (DTEGY) and Orange SA of France (ORA.FR) in the coming
weeks and to incorporate the business into the wider BT Group in
the months to come.
"The combined BT and EE will be a digital champion for the U.K.,
providing high levels of investment and driving innovation in a
highly competitive market," BT Chief Executive Gavin Patterson
said.
BT said it will now start the formal process of completing the
deal. A prospectus will be issued shortly and the deal set to close
Jan. 29, when Deutsche Telekom and Orange will receive shares in
BT.
After the completion of the deal, Deutsche Telekom will have 12%
of BT shares and Orange will have 4%. A representative of Deutsche
Telekom will be appointed to the BT Board in due course.
-Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com; @IanWalk40289749
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 15, 2016 02:42 ET (07:42 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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