Investors in BT (BT.A) can relax and enjoy their weekend. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has approved the telecoms giant's proposed £12.5bn takeover of EE, the UK's largest mobile provider. The deal will add more than 25m mobile customers to the group and enable it to offer lucrative 'quad-play' bundles of broadband, TV and both fixed-line and mobile telephony.
Management expects the combined group to become a "digital champion" in the UK with the resources to invest and innovate in a fiercely competitive market. Competition regulators ruled that as BT and EE operate in largely separate markets, a tie-up wouldn't result in a substantial lessening of competition or significantly harm the interests of consumers. As part of the transaction, EE-owners Deutsche Telekom and Orange will receive stakes of 12 per cent and 4 per cent in the combined business. BT's directors expect the deal to close on 29 January, ahead of third-quarter results on 1 February.
