Shares in France Telecom jumped by over 5% this morning in Paris on reports that the group was close to an agreement to take control of German mobile phone operator MobilCom.
The Financial Times reported that France Telecom and MobilCom were near a deal after the German company's four main creditor banks had agreed to restructure €4.7 billion in MobilCom debt falling due in July.
But it added that announcement of an agreement could be more than two weeks away.
In Paris the financial newspaper Les Echos said the four banks - Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch, ABN Amro and Societe Generale - had agreed to refinance the debt, which will eventually be converted into France Telecom shares at a premium.
But according to the Financial Times, France Telecom would be taking on additional total debt of €6-7 billion to its existing obligations of around €61 billion.
