BT wants to buy EE for £12.5 billion

Last week it was revealed that BT was ready to choose between acquiring EE and O2, and now its made its decision. Rather than bringing O2 back into the fold, BT has instead opted to buy EE for £12.5 billion.

According to BT the acquisition will “enable BT to accelerate its existing mobility strategy” to “combine the power of fibre broadband, Wi-Fi and 4G.” So expect to see adverts offering super-fast broadband and 4G bundles once all the paperwork is signed.

In addition to the £12.5 billion, Deutsche Telekom and Orange, EE’s owners, will receive a stake in BT (12 and four per cent, respectively). Deutsche Telekom will also be entitled to appoint a member of BT’s Board of Directors.

It’s unclear what this acquisition means for O2, but it has been reported that Three was looking to negotiate an acquisition with whichever network BT didn’t buy. Whether that will actually happen is unclear.

I would like to believe that having a network the size of EE in the hands of someone like BT could bring about more of a possibility of unlimited mobile broadband (with no need for a landline). Sadly, as amazing that would be, it’s unlikely to happen. Shame really.