Nov 25, 2009 - 08:51

Sunrise takes on Orange glow

The activities of telecoms providers Orange and Sunrise are merging in Switzerland, according to a joint announcement by France Telecom and TDC.

Orange's parent company France Telecom has agreed to buy three-quarters of Sunrise from the Danish group TDC in a deal worth €1.5 billion (SFr2.26 billion).

The two operators based in Switzerland have a combined turnover of SFr3.1 billion. With 3.4 million mobile phone clients, the new entity will be the largest competitor for the market leader and original fixed-line operator Swisscom.

A Swisscom spokesman said the news did not come as a surprise and that his company was "well-equipped" to face the competition, which would be good for customers.

The merger has yet to be approved by the Federal Communication Commission.

swissinfo.ch and agencies

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