France Telecom abandoned its proposed merger with the Swiss Sunrise, which had been blocked recently by the Swiss competition authority.
The French telecoms operator and the Danish TDC, parent company of Sunrise, have said in a statement that an analysis "detailed" the situation had led them to decide to stop their discussions.
"An appeal to the Federal Administrative Court will also be removed," added the two groups.
The Competition Commission (Competition Commission) in Switzerland has prohibited the merger in April between Orange Communications, Swiss subsidiary of France Telecom, and Sunrise Communications, the second mobile operator in Switzerland. The Commission had noted that the scale resulting from the merger would have created, together with a number Swisscom, a collective dominant position.
This legal setback in Switzerland should not call into question the policy of merger and acquisition of the operator, however, had said the leaders of France Telecom several times in recent weeks. On April 29, when the annual results of the group, CFO of Orange, Gervais Pelissier, was still reported to remain "convinced that having a strong second operator in Switzerland, Swisscom side, is the way to recover dynamics of competition in the years ahead. "
Always looking for new growth
France Telecom is still looking for consolidation opportunities in mature markets, as well as targets in emerging markets, particularly in Africa and the Middle East.
Switzerland accounts for less than 1% of global sales group, and less than 1.5% of its EBITDA.Orange Switzerland, 100% subsidiary of France Telecom and third mobile operator in the Confederation, was done last year a turnover of 1.3 billion Swiss francs (924 million) with approximately 1156 employees.
Sunrise is in turn the number two industry in Switzerland, with sales of 9.9 billion kroner (1.3 billion euros) conducted in 2009.