Electronics giant Siemens has won the race to buy the BBC's technology arm and provide technology support across the corporation in a deal that will be worth £2bn over the next 10 years.
Siemens is the only remaining bidder from an initial field of nine, beating the challenge of its remaining rival Accenture. As part of the deal - which remains subject to contract - it will provide all of the BBC's IT support and network needs for at least the next decade.
It will also take over a number of external contracts held by the division, part of the BBC Ventures commercial spin-off arm, including ESPN and mobile phone operator 3.
The BBC said that mobile phone manufacturer and electronics giant Siemens, which will take on the majority of BBC Technology's 1,400 employees, demonstrated the best value for money, cultural fit and scale.
The sale of the division - announced last year as part of an attempt by former director general Greg Dyke to cut costs - has proved controversial, with broadcasting union Bectu threatening to go on strike over the planned sale.
Last month Bectu called on the new BBC chairman, Michael Grade, to stop the sale, arguing that the reasoning behind it was "flawed".
It accused the BBC of handing a plan to the bidders including secret proposals for up to 350 job losses.
The BBC refused to show the plans to the union.
"Given that BBC Technology is actually the nervous system of the BBC and is central to the convergence of broadcasting and information technology, it is a proposal which makes no sense," Bectu said in a letter to Mr Grade.
"Any new owner will insist on making a profit on the operation, so it is likely to cost the BBC significantly more than retaining it in-house," the union added.
But the BBC insists that the move will save the corporation £20m to £30m a year.
Although the strike threat was averted, Bectu remains angry that it was not properly consulted over the plans.
The BBC insisted today that it had been in consultation with the union since the sale was announced, and that talks would continue until it was finalised this autumn.
Under the terms of the sale, which is subject to European Union procurement procedures and approval from the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, the winning bidder will have to take on the majority of BBC Technology's workforce.
It will then be subject to government and EU approval, with the final transfer of ownership not expected to be completed until the autumn.
Founded in March 2001, BBC Technology was identified as a possible sales target by the former director general, Greg Dyke. Last year its turnover was around £230m. Mr Dyke announced plans for the sale last November after undertaking a root and branch review of the corporation's technology needs over the next decade.
"When we were given our current funding agreement in 2000 by Chris Smith - the then secretary of state for culture, media and sport - he made it a condition that we raised an additional £1bn over the next seven years," Mr Dyke said at the time.
"He suggested one way of contributing to that was to sell a BBC asset. This is what is now planned. By taking our technical support contract to the market and selling BBC Technology we can achieve significant savings over a sustained period of time."
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