T-Mobile Nederland is being sold by its current owners Deutsche Telekom and Tele2 to two investment funds for €5.1bn.

The company, with 6.9 million clients in the Netherlands and 700,000 internet subscriptions, is being bought by British venture capitalist Apax and US fund Warburg Pincus.

T-Mobile Nederland operates four different labels – T-Mobile, Tele2, Ben and Simpel – and all will continue to offer services on the Dutch market, the new owners say. Within five years, the company also plans to connect one million households to its fibre optic network, which is currently being rolled out.

The deal is also the first to fall under new Dutch legislation which would allow the economic affairs minister to block a foreign takeover if the continuity of services is under threat.