France Telecom is set to announce today that it has agreed to buy Orange for about $46 billion (€50 billion) from Vodafone AirTouch, to create one of the world's top five mobile phone companies.

It was agreed during the weekend that France Telecom will inject its mobile assets into Orange and float 15-20 per cent on the London stock exchange next year. Orange chief executive Mr Hans Snook and his management team will run Orange, which will retain its name.