The sale of EE to BT is to go ahead without condition after being approved by British Competition and Markets Authority.
The deal is valued at approximately £12.5bn and is expected to close at the end of this month.
In a statement on the BT Website, the company’s Chief Executive Gavin Patterson said: “It is great news that the CMA has approved our acquisition of EE. We are pleased they have found there to be no significant lessening of competition following an in-depth investigation lasting more than ten months.
“The combined BT and EE will be a digital champion for the UK, providing high levels of investment and driving innovation in a highly competitive market. I have no doubt that consumers, businesses and communities will benefit as we combine the power of fibre broadband with the convenience of leading edge mobile services. I look forward to welcoming EE into the BT family”.
However, some industry rivals aren’t happy about the move. TalkTalk’s Chief Executive Dido Harding said
“It’s a disappointing decision which will increase costs for all mobile customers,”
“This entity will create a company that is more powerful than BT before its privatisation – it will have a huge market pressure and squeeze out smaller mobile companies.”
