Private-equity firms Apax, EQT and Providence are expected to lead the bids for France Telecom’s Swiss business, Orange Switzerland, reports Reuters. Analysts predict the unit could sell for around EUR1.5 billion with France Telecom pledging to return at least half of the proceeds to shareholders.

"It's not really an attractive target for a telecom operator because the market is so competitive," said a Paris-based telecom analyst. "It might be a good deal for a private-equity group or even a cable operator that wanted to get into mobile."

France Telecom announced on 28 July it was selling the unit as part of a portfolio review that will see it focus instead on fast-growing emerging markets in the Middle East and Africa. Reuters notes that the policy is part of a wider trend that has also seen large European-based operators such as Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom exit mature markets where they do not have a dominant position or majority control of the businesses that they own.

Orange Switzerland is the country’s third-largest mobile operator (16 percent market share) behind second-placed Sunrise (22 percent) and the dominant market-leader, Swisscom (62 percent). A planned merger between Orange and Sunrise was blocked in 2009 on competition grounds. Sunrise was subsequently bought by private-equity firm CVC last year for US$3.3 billion from TDC, the Danish telecom company.