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France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom have finalised the formalities on the merger of their U.K. mobile operations.



The merger will take effect in practical terms from September 2010. The new organisation is yet to be named, although both companies confirmed that they will continue to operate both brands for 18 months while a new branding strategy is developed.



Some senior staffing arrangements were announced. Former Orange UK chief executive Tom Alexander will become the CEO of the joint venture. Former T-Mobile UK CEO Richard Moat will be the chief financial officer and deputy CE. The board will be headed by non-executive chairman Tim Hottges, who is also CEO of Deutsche Telekom.



The merger has significantly changed the structure of competition UK mobile sector. This joint venture will be number 1 with 37% of the market, followed by Telefonica’s O2 which has around 28%. Home-grown Vodafone will sit in 3rd place with 25%.