Contact:
Newsfox Desk
Phone: + 43 - 1 - 811 40 - 319
E-Mail: editor@newsfox.com
| Pressbox | 
|
Rome/ Paris (pte025/21.03.2003/12:01) - French telecom giant France Telecom (FT) http://www.francetelecom.com has sold its shares in Italian telecom provider Wind Telecommunicazioni http://www.wind.it/index_eng.htm .
FT's 26.5 per cent stake in Wind, owned through its mobile telecommunications subsidiary Orange, will go to Italian provider Enel http://www.enel.it/gruppo_eng/gr_lesocieta.htm . Enel has purchased the shares for 1.33bn euros, thereby gaining 100 per cent ownership of Wind, as reported by France Telecom today.
In addition to the cost of the purchase, Enel will take over an existing loan of 173m euros. By the end of 2004 Enel intends to make Italy's second largest telecoms group"financially independent". All joint venture agreements between Enel, Wind and Orange will be dissolved once the takeover is completed.
Strapped with debts of up to 68bn euros, France Telecom hopes this measure will ease its general financial situation. By 2005 the French group intends to reduce its debt to 40bn euros.
In the first half of 2002, Wind reduced its net loss to 327m euros. Turnover grew by 16.5 per cent to about 1.9bn euros. The boost mainly resulted from the purchase of fixed network operator Infostrada and the takeover of failed British-Telecom-Benetton mobile operator Blu's clients. At the end of 2002, Wind served over 28.5 million fixed network, mobile and Internet clients.
(end)
|
|
