British Telecom's mobile division mmO2 formally began life as an independent company today when its shares began trading on the London Stock Exchange.
Shares in mmO2, which includes Digifone in Ireland, fell by 2 pence sterling to 78 pence in early trading, but later rose over 6% to 84.75 pence, valuing the company at around £7 billion.
Shares in the slimmed down British Telecom closed almost 5% higher at 288.5 pence.
The demerger of mmO2 represents one of the last major steps for BT as it slims down to focus on its core fixed line business and brings its debts down to sustainable levels.
The market value of the demerged mmO2 - now the sixth largest mobile operator in Europe - means it is going straight into the FTSE 100 index of leading UK companies.
