Mobilcom's CEO keeps his job

NEWS The boss of Mobilcom, the beleaguered German wireless outfit, has survived an attempt to oust him - but it seems his future is far from secure. Gerhard Schmid faced a vote of no confidence from the company's supervisory board on Friday, and scraped through by just one vote, according to the Wall Street Journal. The move was triggered by Schmid failing to keep the company abreast of the controversial transfer of E68m from Mobilcom to a company controlled by his wife. Schmid has apologised for the lack of transparency, but claims he did the company no harm. But France Telecom - which controls 28.5 per cent of Mobilcom - may not be entirely satisfied with Schmid remaining at the helm. The French telco has been in talks with banks to refinance E4.7bn in Mobilcom debt that is due for repayment this summer, and to buy out the 50 per cent of the company owned by Schmid and his wife. If these discussions fail, Mobilcom may be forced into bankruptcy. A France Telecom spokeswoman told the newspaper: "We consider this a very serious issue. France Telecom and Orange will review all of their options in the coming days."