Operator France Telecom said this morning that it would float 13% of the share capital of its Orange mobile phone subsidiary, possibly taking the flotation up to 15%.
The price range would be between 11.5-13.5 euros per share, valuing the whole of Orange at 55.2-64.8 billion euros, the company said at a news conference.
The flotation will be accompanied by the issue of convertible bonds. The two placements will allow France Telecom to raise a total of 11.2-12.9 billion euros.
The estimated value of Orange is less than half the 150 billion euro price tag predicted last May when France Telecom bought the British company from Vodafone for £31 billion (48.5 billion euros).
