European investors have backed BT’s proposed £12.5 billion takeover of the mobile operator EE, driving the share prices of all interested parties higher 24 hours after the deal was announced.
That was despite growing speculation that the merger is likely to be the subject of full-blown scrutiny by regulators on the Continent and by the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK.
Shares in Britain’s dominant fixed-line and internet provider were back through £4 after a recent wobble, closing the day 7p better at 405p.
On European exchanges, shareholders in EE, formerly known as Everything Everywhere after a merger of the rivals T-Mobile and Orange, were also in positive territory. Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile’s parent, added 35 cents to close at €12.83, and Orange, the rebranded