The highly competitive auction of France Télécom's majority stake in local directories business PagesJaunes is expected to push the enterprise value above €7bn ($8.9bn) when the bidding closes today.
Deal sources said French media company Vivendi was favourite to buy the stake. This would push out the three private equity consortiums: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Axa Private Equity, Eurazeo and Goldman Sachs; PAI Partners and BC Partners; and Texas Pacific Group.