A report has just surfaced that Groupe Bull SA’s talks with France Telecom for the transfer of its communications business had stalled because the parties could not agree on its value, writes Marsha Johnston from Paris. In what seems hardly to be a denial, Bull says the report is just rumour. For over a year, the two have been negotiating to establish a joint France Telecom-Bull subsidiary that would take over Bull’s international telecommunications network and open it up to outside customers. It was reported during the summer that France Telecom’s 17% holding in Bull survives for historical reasons and that, apart from the benefits that might be gained through its being a major customer, the company has no cause to increase its stake. Bull has also restructured $700m in debt from its acquisition of Bull HN and Zenith Data Systems. The issuing banks are NatWest Capital Markets, Banque Nationale de Paris, J P Morgan and Societe Generale. A Bull spokesman says that the company should know in a few weeks whether the new debt issue is successful.
