Competition and Markets Authority in the UK clears the BT and EE merger

BT is set to merge with EE, and the company has just received the green light from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK. This body has approved the merger, which clears BT's £12.5 billion acquisition of EE to become the UK's largest mobile telecoms company. The CMA found that the merger of the two companies would not result in substantial lessening of competition in the UK.

According to findings:

"BT Group plc (BT) and EE Limited (EE) operate largely in separate areas with BT strong in supplying fixed communications services (voice, broadband and pay TV), EE strong in supplying mobile communications services, and limited overlap between them in both categories of service. BT (including Openreach) also provides many fixed services to other communications providers, including backhaul services to mobile communications providers such as EE, O2, Three and Vodafone. These backhaul services connect radio masts to core networks. EE also provides wholesale mobile services to other mobile service providers such as Virgin Media."

Considering various potential outcomes resulting from the merger, such as the continued incentive to provide services to other providers on a wholesale basis, no evidence was found that could cause issues for the wireless and telecoms industries. The two companies operate largely in different markets. EE is a main player in the wireless industry, while BT has barely any share of the market. On the contrary, BT has and will continue to expand in retail broadband in which EE isn't a major competitor