BT launches £1bn placing to help fund EE takeover

12th Feb 2015 08:02

Telecoms group BT has revealed details of its £1bn placing to help fund its £12.5bn takeover of UK mobile network EE.The company, which this week agreed to shell out £960m on new Premier League football rights, intends to raise the equivalent of 3% of its outstanding share capital through the issuance of new ordinary shares.The accelerated bookbinding process will be launched on Thursday, with JPMorgan, Bank of American Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs acting as book runners."The placing shares, when issued, will be credited as fully paid and will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing ordinary shares of five pence each in the capital of the company, including the right to receive all dividends and other distributions declared, made or paid on or in respect of such shares after the date of issue," BT said in a statement.The remainder of the consideration for the EE purchase will come from new debt financing.BT hopes the deal will complete before the end of its next financial year on 31 March 2016, subject to shareholder approval and merger clearance."The combination of EE and BT will provide customers with innovative, seamless services that combine the power of fibre broadband with wi-fi and advanced mobile capabilities," BT said."Integrating the two companies will accelerate BT's mobility strategy and increase BT's capacity for future investment and product innovation as it continues to build world-class digital infrastructure in the UK."