Spain's Telefonica to Acquire O2 Plc for £17.7 Billion

Madrid -- Telefonica SA, a telecommunications group based in Spain,
has agreed to acquire O2 Plc, a U.K.-based mobile firm, for
approximately £17.7 billion (26 billion euro). With the deal, Telefonica
stands to gain the sixth-largest mobile operator in Europe, as well as an
inlet to the German and U.K. mobile markets. Over the last 12 months,
the European telecommunications market has been the scene of a
merger-and-acquisition frenzy, and O2 has been the subject of takeover
rumours for quite some time. Earlier this year, Germany's Deutsche
Telekom AG and Royal KPN of the Netherlands were understood to
have discussed the possibility of acquiring O2, but a deal never
materialised. Telefonica was also understood to have approached KPN
over the possibility of a merger.
http://www.telefonica.com/home_eng.shtml