Everything Everywhere to pay £250m bonus Everything Everywhere will pay a bonus dividend of £250m to Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom, which jointly own the UK's largest mobile group that is at the centre of private equity bid interest. France Telecom on Wednesday reaffirmed its commitment to the group, but admitted that it would look at any offer if it "makes sense." Everything Everywhere will pay £125m each to its French and German owners, underscoring the cash generation of a business finally seeing the results of a merger three years ago that is predicted to yield total cost savings of £3.5bn. There are likely to be further payouts later this year by Everything Everywhere, which operates the Orange and T-Mobile mobile brands in the UK and paid dividends of £693m in 2011. Such regular cash payouts explains the private equity interest in buying the business, with former chief Tom Alexander having spoken to groups such as KKR and Apax about making an offer over the past few months. Those close to the talks caution that a bid could take further time given the size of transaction. Citigroup estimates the value of the business, including debt, would be about €11bn, while analysts at Espirito Santo put the value at near £10.5bn. Stéphane Richard, chief executive of France Telecom, reaffirmed his commitment to the joint venture on Thursday in Marseille, although he added that they would look at any proposal that "makes sense." He said: "We have a joint venture with Deutsche Telekom in the UK. We are happy with how it works, we are happy with the operations, we are happy with the management, we have no problems with this joint venture. The Germans are also happy to be there - they don't wish to sell it. We don't wish to sell either. If we receive an offer that makes sense, of course we will look at it. But that does not mean we will accept it. But as of today, there is no seller of Everything Everywhere, not us, not the Germans, neither of us. Synergies are measured quarter by quarter. We were a little behind at the beginning but now we are ahead of plan. Executives at France Telecom have in the past mentioned a potential flotation of a stake in the business, although analysts have also speculated that France Telecom could buy its German partner's stake either alone or alongside private equity. Deutsche Telekom is seen as a less committed owner of the business, and more in need for additional funds given the costs of the rollout of fibre networks in Germany and the need to support its operations in the US after failing to agree a sale to AT&T last year. Everything Everywhere paid total dividends of £693m in 2011, including £568m from organic cash flow and a special dividend of £125m in the third quarter. It also paid back the £1.25bn in loans from its parent companies during the year, leaving the business entirely self-financed. It has raised two tranches of bonds, with an initial €500m in January bolstered by a further £450m in March. This financial separation also added to the speculation about the sale of the group.