Private equity firms prepare £10bn EE bid

A deal could be worth up to £10bn, including a £7bn debt package, the Financial Times reported. Banks working with the bidders are considering a US high-yield bond to support the deal. The bidders could also draw on co-investments from LPs.

A buyout of this size would be Europe's largest deal since the financial crisis. In June 2007, KKR acquired UK drug store chain Alliance Boots in a £11.1bn deal - Europe hasn't seen a private equity-backed buyout valued at more than €5bn since.

EE, which was established following the merger of Orange's and T-Mobile's British operations, is owned by France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom, of which Blackstone owns 3%. The current owners could retain 15-20% in case of a buyout. Yet, an IPO reportedly remains the owners' preferred way to raise capital for EE.

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• Topics
• UK / Ireland
• Technology
• Buyouts
• United Kingdom
• Germany
• France
• Apax Partners
• Blackstone Group
• CVC Capital Partners
• KKR