France Télécom chairman and chief executive officer Michel Bon
resigned yesterday. He submitted his resignation to the French
government during a meeting of the company's board of directors,
but will continue as interim chairman and CEO until a replacement
is named.
The resignation will become effective at a board meeting in the
next few weeks at which his replacement will be named. Bon's
replacement will submit to the board a financial restructuring plan
to free the company of its heavy debt load of almost £44bn.
The government will support France Télécom in implementing the plan
and provide funding in accordance with market conditions. In the
meantime, it will take steps if necessary to help the company avoid
financial problems. The government owns 56.3% of France
Télécom.
When France Télécom announced its half-yearly revenue in July,
chief financial officer Jean-Louis Vinciguerra said the company
would continue with a series of divestitures and was negotiating
with the government over debt refinancing measures, which could
include bond sales.