EE is another network in takeover talks with BT

Hot on the heels of the news that BT was in talks to bring O2 back into the fold, EE has confirmed that it’s also talking to BT about the possibility of becoming part of the telecoms giant.

EE’s parent companies, Orange and Deutsche Telekom, confirmed that they are both in ‘highly preliminary exploratory discussions’ with BT over a possible sale. The owners claim they are keen to maximise value for shareholders, and strengthening EE’s market position. They have clarified that it’s very early days, and it’s too early to say if the sale will actually occur.

But as Engadget points out, EE is currently the UK’s largest mobile provider and BT is the largest supplier of telecoms. Have the two combine forces will put BT way ahead of the competition in numbers of customers it has and amount of spectrum it will use. Needless to say Ofcom and the European Commission might have a few things to say about that.

Clearly BT is going to be heading back into the world of mobile phones soon enough, but who they will go with has yet to be seen. It’s unclear how much buying EE would cost, but given its size it would likely be a lot more than the £11 billion BT is supposedly offering Telefonica for O2. Then again, O2 is much smaller and EE’s size would be a major boost to BT’s quad-play ambitions.

Well likely be hearing more about this soon, so we’ll keep you updated.