France Telecom's board of directors was due to meet on 8 December to discuss a potential deal to buy a minority stake in Iraqi mobile operator Korek Telecom, Dow Jones Newswires reports. However, CEO Stephane Richard told journalists at the LeWeb 2010 conference in Paris that nothing has been decided yet on the matter. Richard said they have been holding an informative meeting but it was not necessarily decisive. A person familiar with the matter told Dow Jones Newswires earlier that France Telecom is close to signing an agreement to acquire a minority stake in the Iraqi operator. Richard also said the group is currently talking with three parties which have shown an interest in its Orange Sport channel: ESPN, TF1 and the French football league. He said ESPN has shown an interest in entering in discussions with Orange, adding that no offer has been made yet though. France Telecom has been looking for partners or potential buyers of its Orange Sport and Orange cinema channels. It has been in talks with Vivendi pay-TV unit Canal Plus about a possible tie-up of Canal Plus's movie channels TPS Star and Orange Cinema Series as well as with Swedish investment fund Parsifal. France Telecom's CFO Gervais Pellissier in October said that the group hopes to conclude a deal for Orange cinema in 2011.
