Diax stays out of German hands
The German telecommunications giant, Deutsche Telekom, has failed to reach agreement on the purchase of a majority stake in Swiss phone operator Diax, according to an article published in the German edition of the Financial Times newspaper.
The paper said on Thursday that the collapse in negotiations leaves Deutsche Telekom without a partner in the Swiss third generation mobile phone licence (UMTS) auctions, which start on November 13.
Diax, which is number two in the Swiss mobile telecommunications market, has 700,000 mobile phone customers and 300,000 fixed line customers in the Swiss market.
The United States-based telecommunications group, SBC Communications, a group of Swiss electricity companies and insurers Swiss Re and Winterthur, currently control Diax.
Deutsche Telekom could still strike a last minute deal, ahead of the UMTS auction, with Swisscom subsidiary Mobile Com. However the newspaper believes this is not likely..
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