Orange starts partial sale of rural FTTP infrastructure assets in France – report

(Telecompaper) Orange has reportedly hired Credit Suisse to manage the partial sale of Orange Concessions, a new subsidiary that will own the open access fibre networks that the operator has been deploying in French rural areas. According to Les Echos, the first round of an auction will take place this week after the sale attracted several potential buyers. Interested parties include infrastructure investors such as Australian fund manager IFM and US firm I Squared, as well as a number of institutional investors based in France (CNP, Credit Agricole Assurances, Caisse des Depots, EDF Invest) and abroad (Singapore's GIC and Canadian CDPQ).