(10 November 2009 8:55 pm)

MUMBAI: Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom have signed an agreement to merge their UK operations, T-Mobile and Orange respectively, into a 50:50 joint venture company.

This binding agreement confirms the terms of the transaction announced on 8 September last year.

The agreement is subject to the approval of the supervisory board of Deutsche Telekom and the board of directors of France Telecom.

Completion of the merger is conditional upon approval by relevant authorities and remains expected in the first half of 2010 as previously indicated.

Says Deutsche Telekom CFO Timotheus Höttges, "This joint venture is based on the full commitment of Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom to a long term partnership.

"The negotiations were conducted in a fair manner by both sides and I am certain that this spirit of professionalism and partnership will shape the future of our joint venture. It will set new standards as the number one in the UK mobile market."

Avers Orange deputy CEO in charge of Group Finance and Information Systems Gervais Pellissier, "The relative terms of the transaction as announced on 8 September were fully confirmed. I would like to stress the excellent cooperation between the teams of Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom that enabled us to deliver on the timing and process objectives which we set out in September.

"This is an important step towards our objective of establishing an excellent platform to deliver operational synergies and offer innovative and high quality services to our customers."