VIENNA, Feb 3: France Telecom and an investment partner have sold mobile operator Orange Austria to Hong Kong-based Hutchison for 1.3 billion euros ($1.7 billion), Hutchison’s Austrian affiliate said.

The Hutchison deal has been long in the works from the heavily indebted France Telecom, which holds 35 per cent of the Austrian company. Buyout firm Mid Europa Partners holds the other 65 per cent.

In a bid to satisfy competition regulators, Hutchison will in turn sell assets including wireless spectrum and transmitters worth 390 million euros to rival operator A1, which is part of Telekom Austria.

Hutchison, which is already active in Austria with its “3” brand, will also offload Orange Austria’s cheap-rate affiliate Yesss!, according to a statement from Orange.

But the deal, which will create a company with 3.5 million customers, could still attract close scrutiny from European Union authorities, Austrian media have reported.—AFP