France Telecom is close to acquiring Indian network services provider GTL Ltd's IT business for about 2.5-3 billion rupees ($62-74 million), a newspaper reported on Saturday.
"Orange Business Services, the business arm of France Telecom Group, is in an advanced stage of negotiations with GTL to acquire its enterprise and managed services division," the Economic Times said, quoting a source close to the talks.
The deal is expected to be announced next week, it said. The newspaper said GTL had recently put its IT division on the block following a decision to focus on its core network services business.
Officials at GTL could not be reached for a comment. The paper said France Telecom had refused to confirm or deny its interest in the Indian company's unit. It said the French telecoms group had beaten Britain's BT Group Plc US-based EMW and other system integrators, who were also interested in buying GTL's IT business.