European telco giant France Télécom is a little lighter this week after unloading its Swiss mobile-phone unit just before Christmas.
Apax Partners of London is buying Orange Switzerland from the French company for $1.6 billion euros ($2.1 billion U.S.). It still needs regulatory approval. France Télécom still has operations in Spain, the U.K. and Poland, as well as France. The telco is expanding in emerging markets, particularly Africa, but Europe is becoming less attractive as the number of new customers is shrinking and regulations are tightening, The New York Times reported.
London-based Apax Partners, a private-equity investment group, has had a busy year of wheeling and dealing. The company reportedly has been involved in 20 deals in 2011.
“It makes sense to exit the difficult Swiss market and may give them more flexibility on the cash-flow side," Giovanni Montalti, an analyst at Crédit Agricole Cheuvreux told the Times.
Last year, France Télécom tried to merge Orange with rival Sunrise in Switzerland, but failed to get government approval, something that played a big role in last week's sale.
