Moody's, the credit rating agency, yesterday placed France Telecom's AA1 long-term debt rating on review for possible downgrade following its $5.5 billion (€5.18 billion) investment in Cablelink's owner, NTL. On Monday, France Telecom said it would acquire 25 per cent of NTL for $5.5 billion, to enable NTL to finance the acquisition of Cable and Wireless' consumer telecoms business.

Moody's said the review of the long-term debt rating would focus on the extent to which France Telecom's move "could con strain its future financial flexibility". It said the NTL acquisition was a "good opportunity for France Telecom to expand its presence in the attractive UK telecommunications market".