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Deutsche Telekom ‘may exit UK venture’
16 February 2012
Report says Deutsche Telekom considers sale of share in Everything Everywhere joint venture to raise cash
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Deutsche Telekom
Everything Everywhere
T-Mobile
AT&T
France Telecom
Orange
UK
Deutsche Telekom is considering selling its share in Everything Everywhere, its 50-50 UK joint venture with France Telecom, reported Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources. The operator is looking at options for a UK exit but has not appointed any investment banks so far, and the sources do not expect the company to take a final decision soon.
The move is being seen as an alternative for Deutsche Telekom to raise cash after its preferred option, sale of T-Mobile USA to AT&T, was blocked by regulators in the US.
Everything Everywhere is a 50-50 joint venture of Orange UK and T-Mobile UK, though for the time being it operates with both the France Telecom and the Deutsche Telekom mobile brands. The CEO is France Telecom executive Olaf Swantee.
According to the Bloomberg report, possible outcomes could include France Telecom buying out its JV partner — or a third-party buyer could be sought for the entire venture. However, the report says France Telecom may find it difficult to raise funds for such a transaction. Also, the sources expect Deutsche Telekom to firstly focus on improving the operational performance of Everything Everywhere, before going for the exit option. GTB
Further reading from Global Telecoms Business:
Everything Everywhere to auction UK spectrum 11 Jan 2012
Everything Everywhere looks to use owners to build M2M ... 27 Dec 2011
Everything Everywhere £1.5bn network spend 09 Dec 2011
Everything Everywhere to cut 550 staff 03 Nov 2011
UK networks to use Virgin backhaul 06 Sep 2011
FT and DT will miss benefits unless they merge entirely 22 Jun 2011