BT (LON:BT.A) has been given the go-ahead to complete its £12.5bn acquisition of mobile phone group EE with no disposals or changes to the business required.
The telecoms group said that the unconditional clearance from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was great news, with the takeover now set to be completed in the next few weeks.
Rivals and customers had raised a number of concerns said the regulator, but after a ‘complex, detailed and rigorous investigation’ it had concluded there would be no lessening of competition from the deal.
John Wotton, who chaired the enquiry, said there was no evidence the merger would cause significant harm to competition or the interests of consumers.
"The retail mobile services market in the UK is competitive, with four main mobile providers and a substantial number of smaller operators.
“As BT is a smaller operator in mobile, it is unlikely that the merger will have a significant effect. Similarly, EE is only a minor player in retail broadband.”
The deal was announced in February and provisionally approved in October.
Vodafone and TalkTalk have called for BT‘s broadband network Openreach to be spun off, but the CMA said its focus had just been on the impacts of the merger and that Openreach was a matter for regulator Ofcom.
Gavin Patterson, BT’s chief executive, said the combined BT and EE would be a digital champion for the UK.
Shares rose 1% to 472p.