BRUSSELS — France Telecom bid for Belgian network equipment supplier Telindus on Wednesday, countering a hostile bid from Belgacom.

France Telecom offered EUR 15.80 per share, 17 percent more than Belgacom’s EUR 13.50. It was a friendly bid, valuing Telindus at about EUR 570 million.

The offer sent Telindus’s shares up by 9.6 percent to EUR 16.10 amid talk of a bidding war, Reuters reported.

France Telecom also said its offer had the support of the Telindus board and shareholders owning 19.82 percent.

Telindus is in the midst of a massive restructuring to cut costs and revive ailing foreign subsidiaries and recently rejected Belgacom’s offer as too low.

Telindus vice president Carmen Cordier, Telindus said the France Telecom offer made sense: “Telindus will be able to rely on the international presence of France Telecom in pursuing its development and preserving its corporate culture”.

However, Belgacom said it will now study the details of the rival offer before deciding its next step.

[Copyright Expatica News 2005]

Subject: Belgian news