FT may dump TeliaSonera bid

That sucking noise France Telecom execs hear is the sound of its share price going down the drain as investors let the company know what they think about the French telco’s bid for Scandinavian provider TeliaSonera. FT shares slipped 7.72 percent in the days following its announcement it was paying $42 billion for the company. It didn’t help that TeliaSonera rejected FT’s bid like the Bachelorette sends potential suitors packing.

France Telecom’s director of finance, Gervais Pellissier, said FT wasn’t wed to the idea of acquiring TeliaSonera and could withdraw its bid if share prices continued to erode.

“We need more time to explain our project and this work has only just begun,” Pellissier said. “We are convinced this project makes sense for the two groups, but it is not indispensable for France Telecom.”

For more:
- Read the Thompson Financial story

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