BT opts for EE over O2 as it enters exclusive talks over takeover worth £12.5bn December 15, 2014 BT has confirmed that it has entered into exclusive talks with mobile operator EE, which has seemingly beaten its rival O2 to the £12.5bn takeover deal. The telecoms giant said that the period of exclusivity "will last several weeks" to allow the necessary negotiations to be completed. The deal would be paid through a combination [...]
BT set to unveil result of mobile takeover talks December 14, 2014 BT IS expected today to reveal the outcome of takeover talks with O2 and EE, as it looks to buy one of the mobile groups for around £10bn. A deal, which would be funded by a mixture of BT stock and cash, is part of the firm’s strategy to move into so-called quad play by [...]
Orange expects BT to decide on £10bn EE takeover by Christmas December 4, 2014 THE CHIEF executive of French telecoms group Orange, Stephane Richard, said yesterday that he expected BT to decide before Christmas on whether to bid for the UK’s largest mobile network operator, EE, or its smaller rival, Telefonica’s O2. “BT has its own calendar,” said Richard, speaking at a conference on France’s economy and business climate, according [...]
Exclusive: TalkTalk chief Dido Harding says watchdog must consider BT and Openreach split December 2, 2014 TalkTalk chief executive Dido Harding has called on Ofcom to consider the separation of BT and its infrastructure arm Openreach, a move she said could create a new FTSE 100 business better incentivised for consumers. Her call comes as BT is believed to be considering asking the regulator for permission to fold its wholesale arm [...]
TalkTalk boss Dido Harding doesn’t fear quad play UK December 2, 2014 As deal fever sweeps the sector, the head of Britain’s budget broadband business isn’t fazed. Dido Harding feels quite relaxed despite the past two weeks’ explosive telecoms deal talk that foreshadows what could be the largest period of consolidation the sector has ever seen. If anything, the chief executive of Britain’s budget broadband provider – [...]
Sky faces its big match in fight with BT for Premier League TV football December 2, 2014 Sometime early next year – and no one knows precisely when such is the secrecy surrounding the process – the Premier League will launch an auction to decide who will broadcast live matches for three seasons from 2016-17. And analysts are divided over whether Sky, which has held most of the broadcast rights since the [...]
Sky recruits Lazard bank advisers to explore mobile push as BT confirms takeover talks with O2 and EE December 1, 2014 Sky has appointed advisers, including investment bank Lazard, to examine its UK mobile options, City A.M. understands. The move, first reported by the Financial Times, comes as the telecoms sector has lit up with deal talk over the past week since BT confirmed its takeover talks with O2 and EE to enter the mobile [...]
Vodafone eyes up Tesco’s video service Blinkbox November 30, 2014 Vodafone is eyeing up Tesco’s video streaming service Blinkbox following its chief executive’s comments that the firm intends to push into home broadband and TV in the UK next year. While the mobile operator is looking at Blinkbox, along with a number of other interested parties, it is “nowhere near final terms on a deal,” [...]
Split BT and Openreach: £10bn takeover talks with O2 and EE raise competition concerns for Vodafone and TalkTalk November 26, 2014 BT’s biggest rivals voiced competition concerns last night as the former state monopoly continued £10bn takeover talks with the owners of mobile networks O2 and EE. Vodafone and TalkTalk would both call on the regulator to ensure greater separation between BT and its infrastructure arm Openreach, even going so far as to push for the [...]
FTSE ends flat as travel firms weigh on index – London Report November 26, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index closed flat on Wednesday, erasing early gains, with weaker travel and leisure stocks offsetting a rebound in miners and strength in telecoms. The blue chip FTSE 100 index ended 1.97 points lower, or flat in percentage terms, at 6,729.17 points after hitting a session high of 6,765.01 in early trading, as [...]