France Telecom agrees to sell Orange Switzerland

PARIS — France Telecom says it has agreed to sell its Swiss mobile phone subsidiary to a British private equity group.

France Telecom and Apax Partners, which advises a number of private equity funds, agreed to a price of 1.6 billion euros ($2.1 billion) on Friday for Orange Switzerland.

In its announcement Saturday, France Telecom said the deal must still be approved by Swiss authorities. It will be submitted to France Telecom's board during January.

London-based Apax advises a group of private equity funds and has completed six buyouts this year worth 10.2 billion euros.