France Telecom denies plot to take over C&W
published: Tuesday | June 21, 2005

The head office of Cable and Wireless Jamaica on Half-Way Tree Road. - PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

PARIS (Reuters):

FRANCE TELECOM dismissed a British newspaper report on Sunday that it is planning a £4-billion bid for British rival Cable and Wireless.

"It is pure fantasy," a spokesman for Europe's second-largest telecoms operator said.

The Sunday Telegraph newspaper had said acquisition of Cable and Wireless would give France Telecom access to Britain's second-biggest telecoms network after that of BT Group and would create synergies with France's Telecom's mobile phone unit Orange.