Five become four

The consortium led by Czech financial company PPF has withdrawn from the race to acquire a controlling stake in the fixed line operator Cesky Telecom. Dow Jones says the consortium, which includes PPF, Tiscali and J&T Finance Group, has not disclosed why it has withdrawn from the bidding. There are now four groups left in the running: Swisscom, Belgacom, Telefónica and a financial consortium which has France Télécom as a partner.