Is France Telecom looking to sell TPSA?

According to unofficial information from sources close to France Telecom, French bank BNP Paribas and an investment division of German Dresdner Bank are both engaged in a project concerning the withdrawal of FT from telecom giant TPSA. One of the options considered is a management buy out (MBO) with the key role played by Roger de Bazelaire, the Finance Director of TPSA. "The transaction would be financed by BNP Paribas and Dresdner bank. The MBO option is being considered due to the poor state of the telecom sector, where it is difficult to find an investor who would take over the assets for an attractive price," said the informer. This information was not confirmed neither by FT, nor by TPSA. According to analysts, an MBO would be a difficult operation to execute. "The financial level is too high for such a transaction. The market value of TPSA is almost zł. 20 billion. I would not exclude that FT might try to sell TPSA so the French investor could pay off some of its debts," said an analyst. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 4) A.K.