France Telecom, TDC kill merger
France Telecom and Danish telecom group TDC yesterday abaondoned a proposed deal to merge their Swiss operations to take on market leader Swisscom after competition regulators rejected it as bad for consumers. In April, Swiss regulators blocked the proposed deal on the grounds that it would create a two-player market in which the companies would have incentives to raise prices. Since then, the companies had said they were considering an appeal but have now decided to abandon it. It is good news for Swisscom which sees its closest rivals thwarted.