T-Mobile UK and Orange are to merge - becoming the UK's biggest mobile phone firm with 28.4 million customers.

The deal between Orange-owner France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile UK will create a business with sales of 9.4bn euros (£8.2bn; $13.5bn). The merged firm will have about 37% of the UK mobile market - overtaking the current leader, Telefonica's O2. It is the second large corporate deal in two days, after Kraft Food's £10.2bn takeover proposal for Cadbury.

'Efficiencies'

Orange and T-Mobile said their deal - due to be signed by November - would "bring substantial benefits to UK customers", and promised expanded network coverage, better network quality and improved customer services.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8243226.stm