BT should decide whether to buy a mobile operator in the UK before Christmas, says the chief executive of Orange, which is in talks to sell EE to the British telecoms group, according ft.com. The UK telecom operator is in discussions to buy either EE, which is also half owned by Deutsche Telekom, or Telefonica’s rival O2 to create a dominant mobile and fixed line telecoms group. On Thursday, Stephane Richard, chief executive of Orange, said that he expected BT to make a decision in the next few weeks. “BT has its own calendar,” he said at a conference in Paris. “You should know more a few days before Christmas.” Orange and Deutsche Telekom have said they are open to a sale of the business, either to a trade buyer such as BT, through a stock market flotation or to some of the private equity groups that remain interested in the business. Mr Richard’s comments were first reported on Reuters.
Analysts also believe that BT will come to a conclusion on whether to acquire an operator relatively quickly as alternative plans to launch its own mobile service will require considerable work ahead of a launch that has been targeted for before March.
Either deal by BT is expected by analysts to spark similar moves among rivals such as Vodafone and Sky, which are also considering their options in a market where companies are seeking to offer a wide range of telecoms and TV services to customers.
Separately, Mr Richard also said he was disappointed that the acquisition of Spanish cable group Jazztel by Orange would be scrutinised further by antitrust regulators in Brussels, although he added that he was confident of that the deal would be approved after the review.
The European Commission opened an in-depth investigation into the Jazztel-Orange tie up on the grounds that it lead to “a significant loss of competitive pressure” for fixed internet access services and multiplay offers, combining fixed voice, internet and mobile services.
While the closer scrutiny and additional wait are a setback for the companies, the case could potentially have wider implication for consolidation across the telecoms market.
The Commission’s main concern appears to be the affect of the deal on competition to provide other services, rather than the combined group’s market share in fixed line, which is well short of being a dominant position even after the market shrinks from four to three players.
Noting that triple-play packages are the most popular product in the Spanish market, the commission said: “It is likely that only integrated providers with fixed and mobile networks would be able to compete in this possible market”.
The companies submitted concessions in an effort to win fast-track clearance, but the commission decided the offer was insufficient to overcome their serious doubts about the deal.
