France Telecom and Telecom Italia Complete Their Acquisition of 35% of Nortel Inversora in Argentina; The two companies now control 60% of Telecom Argentina - Company Business and Marketing

Cambridge Telcom Report, August 23, 1999

France Telecom and Telecom Italia have completed their joint acquisition of the 35% stake in Nortel Inversora SA previously held by Perez Companc and JP Morgan. The acquisition was announced on July 19.

The two European companies now own 100% (50% each) of Nortel s ordinary shares, the holding company that controls 60% of Telecom Argentina.

The cost of the transaction was $530 million ($265 million per operator), of which Perez Companc received $379 million and JP Morgan $151 million.

France Telecom is one of the worlds leading telecommunications carriers, with 1998 consolidated operating revenues of 24.6 billion euros and operations in more than 50 countries. France Telecom provides businesses, consumers and other carriers with a complete portfolio of solutions that spans local, long-distance and international telephony, data, wireless, multimedia, Internet, cable TV, broadcast and value-added services. France Telecom held an initial public offering in October 1997 and is listed on the Paris and New York stock exchanges. (http://www.francetelecom.com)