If approved, the proposed merger between British Telecommunications plc (BT) of the United Kingdom and MCI of the United States (which is awaiting approval by U.S. and European regulators) will create a $42 billion company, the world's fourth–largest telco (after NTT of Japan, AT&T, and Deutsche Telekom). To effect the merger, BT will acquire, for $20 billion, the 80 percent of MCI that it does not already own (BT acquired 20 percent of MCI in 1994), making this the largest takeover ever by a British company.