OFT: Orange, T-Mobile Merger in Danger over 37% Market Share

The recent news that Orange and T-Mobile were to merge is now in danger of falling through. OFT will likely step in and take a closer look at the deal as the proposed merger would see the company have a 37 percent market share in the UK.

Orange and T-Mobile who are owned by France Telecom SA and Deutsche Telekom AG announced the £8.5 billion merger deal last month, and would have sent shockwaves to O2 and Vodafone. O2 currently dominants the UK market with a 27 percent share, Vodafone controls 25 percent.

There are two ways that OFT can handle this; the first is the most likely, being delayed. The second is that Orange and T-Mobile will have to sell some of its mobile phone spectrum in the UK, either one will not be good for France Telecom SA and Deutsche Telekom AG.

The top five UK mobile phone networks Orange, T-Mobile, Vodafone, O2 and Hutchison 3G UK were involved in a meeting last month with Lord Mandelson. A deal was finally struck where the networks had caps imposed on them, which meant that they were only allowed a set amount of spectrum.

For more details, visit IBTimes