Swisscom may make foreign acquisitions as long as the target is not a provider of basic telephone services in a particular country, the Swiss government decided on today.
This lifts an earlier total ban on foreign buys. Swisscom, still majority-owned by the government, will also only be permitted to borrow up to 1.5 times its earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortisation, amounting to approximately 5 billion Swiss francs ($3.83 billion), the government said in a statement. The cabinet approved a new four-year strategy for the firm after it had blocked Swisscom from all acquisitions abroad last month, effectively shooting down a planned takeover of Eircom. The Swiss government still owns 62.45 per cent of Swisscom.