BT set to acquire EE in £12.5bn deal

According to sources cited by the Financial Times, a process of due diligence has been completed without any issue and the British telecom group is expected to officially announce the deal on Thursday morning.

BT had been in exclusive negotiations with Orange and Deutsche Telekom since December and its acquisition of Britain’s largest mobile network will see the group return to the mobile market for the first time in 14 years.

The report added that the telecom group will aim to raise between £1bn and £2bn in an equity placing with shareholders, while the deal for EE will see £6.2bn paid in cash with 6.3bn in shares given to Deutsche Telekom and Orange.

The deal with EE, which has the biggest holding of spectrum used for mobile services in the UK and one of the most developed 4G network in Britain, will add to BT’s existing packages of broadband, television and home phone.

On Wednesday, BT shares closed down 0.04% to 421.04p.