By Anthony Shevlin 
 

French telecommunications company Orange (ORA.FR) on Tuesday denied that it is interested in acquiring Portugal Telecom should Altice NV (ATC.AE) put the subsidiary up for sale.

"There is no plan concerning Portugal Telecom. It isn't on our agenda," said a spokesperson for Orange when contacted by telephone.

According to French newspaper Le Monde, Orange "could be interested" in acquiring Portugal Telecom if Altice president and controlling shareholder Patrick Drahi were to put it up for sale. Portugal Telecom is valued at just over 7 billion euros ($8.57 billion).

While Altice plans to sell non-strategic assets to reduce its debt, management have reiterated in recent weeks that they consider Portugal Telecom to be an essential asset, said Le Monde.

This story was translated in whole or in part from a French-language version initially published by L'Agefi, a partner of Dow Jones & Co.

Write to Anthony Shevlin at anthony.shevlin@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 23, 2018 06:01 ET (11:01 GMT)