Swiss cellco Sunrise believes a merger with Orange could still be in the cards, following a change of heart by competition authorities.
Chairman Dominik Koechlin told German business weekly Handelszeitung that a fresh deal could be brokered with Orange because competition authorities appear to have softened their stance after clearing Sunrise’s sale to CVC Capital Partners last month.
“There is still room for maneuver,” he told the newspaper, noting that the CVC sale was cleared because the venture capital firm has shown it can “continue to expand Sunrise.”
Orange and Sunrise’s former parent TDC abandoned a planned merger in June, after failing to overturn a block on the deal by regulators in April.
TDC subsequently agreed to sell Sunrise to CVC for 3.3 million Swiss francs (€2.4 billion) in September.