New York, NY (Thursday, January 27, 2005) – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is advising Equant N.V. in France Telecom’s $736 million bid to take full control of Equant. France Telecom, which is the controlling shareholder of Equant, has put forth an offer to a committee of independent directors to Equant N.V. to buy out the 45.8% of Equant that it does not already own. As announced on January 24, 2005, a special committee consisting of the independent directors of Equant has been formed and is being advised by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.
Equant N.V. is a recognized industry leader in global communications services for multinational businesses and combines its network expertise with its expanded services capabilities to provide communication services to enable its customers key business processes. France Telecom is one of the world’s leading telecommunications carriers, with 121.5 million customers on the five continents. Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is a leading international law firm with offices in New York, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Washington, Moscow, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
The Debevoise team is led by partners Paul S. Bird in New York and Antoine F. Kirry in Paris.
