By Ian Walker
LONDON--U.K cellphone retailer Phones 4u, which went into
administration last week, said Monday it is selling a further 58
stores to EE for 2.5 million pounds ($4.07 million), preserving 359
jobs.
The sale of these extra stores follows the deal agreed with
Vodafone U.K. (VOD) on Friday to take on 140 of the Phones 4u
stores, preserving about 900 jobs.
The troubled mobile phone retailer said the deal with EE has
been agreed between the parties, but remains subject to court
approving the release of the fixed charge security held on behalf
of the secured creditors.
It also announced the transfer of more than 800 staff to Dixons
Carphone PLC (DC.LN), the retailer behind PC World and Currys, last
week.
Phones 4u went into administration on Sept. 14 after both
Vodafone and EE, a joint venture between Deutsche Telekom AG
(DTE.XE) and Orange SA (ORAN), ended their commercial partnerships
with the store chain and left it without a mobile-network
partner.
Phones 4u also came under competitive pressure after the merger
of consumer-electronics retail giant Dixons Retail with the
1,500-store Carphone Warehouse Group in August.
Owned by private equity group BC Partners, Phones 4u has 550
stand-alone stores, employing 5,596 people.
Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com
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