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Best Buy has purchased a 50 percent stake in The Carphone Warehouse, a European mobile phone vendor, for $2.1 billion.
The deal includes The Carphone Warehouse's 2400 stores, which span nine European countries, as well as its online and direct businesses, insurance operations and airtime reselling businesses, CNN reports.
The Carphone Warehouse will maintain proprietary ownership of its fixed-line telecom business in the UK, comprised of AOL Broadband, Opal and TalkTalk; as well as its interest in a venture with Virgin Mobile France.
Best Buy plans to use the stake to develop Best Buy Mobile. It has also sought to bring Geek Squad, its 24/7 hands-on customer service arm, to Europe.
The Carphone Warehouse shareholders must approve the deal before it passes. Their annual general meeting takes place in August.
