France Telecom shares soar on IPO speculation

NEWS France Telecom's shares soared by 25.5 per cent on the news that it could float its Internet and mobile services arm. Shares rose from E186 to E211.3 (£113.7 to £129.1) after France Telecom said it was considering an IPO for Wanadoo, its Internet arm, and Itineris, France's number one mobile phone operator. Brokers raised performance ratings of the shares: Soc Generale's offered an increased value of E195 (£119.7) from E177 (£108.2), while Morgan Stanley rated the shares as an "outperformer" and offered an increase from E144 (£88) to E190 (£116.1). The French national telco also announced it will be appealing against the demand by the Competition Council to open its ADSL services to competitors such as Cegetal or Siris. It said the eight-week deadline to find an economic and technical resolution was too short.