U.K.'s BT Group In Talks To Buy Mobile-services Company EE

BT Group PLC said late Monday that it's in talks for a possible acquisition of mobile-services provider EE. BT said key headline terms of the possible deal include a purchase price of 12.5 billion pounds ($19.57 billion) for EE on a debt/cash free basis. EE, a joint venture between Deutsche Telekom and France's Orange SA , has 24.5 million direct mobile customers. If the deal is completed, Deutsche Telekom would hold a 12% in BT, and Orange would hold a 4% stake. BT said an acquisition of EE would put in its hands the U.K.'s "most advanced" 4G network. There had been speculation that BT would pursue a bid of O2, which is owned by Spain's Telefonica .