(Telecompaper) O2 UK CEO Ronan Dunne is considering a GBP 8.5 billion management buy-out of the company after EU regulators blocked the sale of the company to 3 UK parent Hutchison, reports the Daily Telegraph. He is understood to have been approached by potential private equity sponsors to carry out a debt-driven buyout. Sources indicate that O2 executives are now evaluating whether it would be financially feasible for Dunne to take the company independent. The talks are in their early stages and are understood not to include O2 parent Telefonica, which remains tied to an exclusivity agreement with Hutchison until end-June, unless they agree to abandon their agreement earlier.