T-Mobile and Virgin To Split

Cell phone service provider T-Mobile and British conglomerate Virgin Group announced Thursday that T-Mobile would abandon its 50-percent stake in the companies' Virgin Mobile joint venture. As part of the deal, T-Mobile will turn its shares over to Virgin, which will then use them as part of a major public offering that is being planned. As part of the deal, T-Mobile has the right to 25 percent of all proceeds after the first 550 million pounds (€805 million) have been raised, with a cap of 100 million pounds – provided the company floats its shares on the market.