French sovereign fund FSI could take part in the acquisition of ASN, Alcatel-Lucent’s undersea cable subsidiary, Agefi reports without citing its sources. The telecom equipment market could raise EUR 600-700 million from the operation and is in talks with different investors. French investment vehicle CDC, which controls 51 percent of FSI, is already a 3.6 percent shareholder in Alcatel-Lucent.
France Telecom was previously reported to be interested in the maritime cable business. Alcatel-Lucent, which is in the process of reducing its debt, recently obtained a EUR 1.6 billion credit facility from Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse by using a patent portfolio as collateral, raising questions in France about the risk of putting such valuable assets in the hands of foreign venture capitalists. Alcatel-Lucent’s unions have called on the French government to purchase a significant stake in the group.
