Talks of Voda and T-Mobile UK deal grow
DEUTSCHE Telekom was playing down mounting speculation it will sell its T-Mobile UK subsidiary to Vodafone yesterday, saying it has only just named a new boss for the group.
Richard Moat, the 54-year old former Orange Romania chief executive, started last Friday as managing director of T-Mobile UK.
And sources close to Deutsche Telekom said this shows the group is now committed to turning around the fortunes of the underperforming mobile phone operator.
However, another industry source said he understands that Deutsche Telekom is keen to sell the struggling UK firm.
An acquisition of T-Mobile by a bigger rival, such as Vodafone or Orange, could give rise to a firm controlling 40 per cent of the UK market. O2, currently the largest UK operator, would be dwarfed by such a deal.
A spokesman for the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said the regulator had its eye on the situation and would examine the impact on competition of such a merger was proposed.
The OFT might refer the merger to the Competition Commission if it fears an adverse impact. A spokesman for the Commission said last night he would expect any investigation involving firms the size of Vodafone and T-Mobile to take six months.
With five network operators, the UK is the EU’s most competitive market, leading analysts to call for a wave of consolidation to boost profits.