PARIS-France Telecom said it reached an agreement to buy Vodafone AirTouch plc’s 17.24-percent interest in E-Plus Mobilfunk GmbH, Germany’s third-largest mobile carrier, for $1.86 billion.
Vodafone was required to sell its stake in E-Plus as part of its agreement to buy AirTouch Communications Inc. earlier this year.
The majority owners of E-Plus, which has about 3 million customers and a 16-percent market share, are German utilities Veba AG and RWE AG, which collectively hold 60.25 percent. BellSouth Corp. owns 22.51 percent.
“France Telecom intends to invite each of the other E-Plus shareholders to either sell their stake to France Telecom or conclude a partnership agreement on the joint management of the company,” the French carrier said in a release.
“Completion of the acquisition is planned for the beginning of … 2000. It is subject to the other E-Plus shareholders waiving their pre-emptive rights and to the usual regulatory approvals.”
France Telecom has operations in more than 50 countries, but its purchase of part of E-Plus represents its first presence in Germany.
