France Telecom denies merger plan

Paris: France Telecom said it had no plans to merge with German rival Deutsche Telekom, responding to union concerns after Deutsche Bank temporarily raised its stake in the French group.

The CFE-CGC/UNSA union said on Monday the German bank's move to boost its holding to over 5 per cent represented a "profound change in the current balance of the shareholding" and was "perhaps a precursor to consolidation operations".

Deutsche Bank's holding reached 5.07 per cent on August 25, but fell to 3.25 per cent on August 31.

A spokeswoman for France Telecom said yesterday the two telecom operators discussed specific topics as the need arose, such as the combination of British units Orange UK and T-Mobile UK late last year. "There is no plan to bring together France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom," the spokeswoman said. The CFE-CGC/UNSA union called for an extraordinary meeting with management and said: "The company's employees want to know the shareholder structure and the steps the company's management intends to take to protect France Telecom's independence."