BT deal to buy German-French mobile venture is cleared

BERLIN (AP) - Germany's Deutsche Telekom and France's Orange S.A. say the sale of their mobile joint venture EE to British telecommunications company BT PLC is going ahead.

The two companies said in a joint statement Friday that the British Competition and Markets Authority had granted its final approval to the deal valued at 12.5 billion pounds ($17.95 billion) without conditions.

The deal, which will be closed at the end of the month, will give BT access to EE's 31 million customers.

According to previously announced details of the transaction, Deutsche Telekom will get new shares equal to 12 percent of BT and a small cash payment, while Orange will receive a 4 percent stake and 3.4 billion pounds in cash. Deutsche Telekom will also gain a seat on BT's board.