Deals
BT Agrees to Buy U.K. Wireless Carrier EE for $19 Billion
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BT Group Plc agreed to buy wireless carrier EE Ltd. for 12.5 billion pounds ($19 billion), creating the U.K.'s largest phone company in a deal set to spark more mergers as operators fight for customers.
Orange SA and Deutsche Telekom AG, the French and German owners of the four-year-old venture, will receive as much as 6.2 billion pounds in cash and the remainder in new BT shares, Chief Financial Officer Tony Chanmugam said Thursday during a conference call. The combination will generate cost savings valued at about 3 billion pounds. The deal, which requires antitrust approval, is projected to be completed by March 2016, BT said.