3 Austria is understood to be preparing a takeover bid for larger rival Orange Austria, reports Austrian news portal 'news.at'. Industry experts value Orange Austria at between EUR 750 million and EUR 1.1 billion. Investment bank Merrill Lynch is believed to be currently conducting due diligence with a binding offer set to be made in around eight weeks, according to information obtained by 'news.at'. At this point, EU and Austrian regulators will have to be notified, with experts expecting any regulatory approval process to take at least six months. The takeover could have wider implications for the Austrian mobile market as the regulator plans to auction off 'digital dividend' frequencies in September 2012. Any takeover could delay the process. Orange Austria is currently 65 percent owned by Mid Europa Partners and 35 percent by France Telecom subsidiary Orange. Since start-October, Orange has been able to activate a sale option to buy the shares held by the private equity firm. This has been the basis for long-term speculation that the Austrian mobile operator could be sold, with many market observers naming T-Mobile as a potential buyer.
