Belgacom CEO rejects KPN takeover talk

The chief executive of Belgacom Group, which trades in Belgium under the Proximus and Scarlet brands, has said there are no advantages to a possible merger with Dutch counterpart KPN. According to a report from L’Echo, Dominique Leroy has rejected press speculation of a potential tie-up, claiming the costs of such a deal would outweigh the benefits. KPN recently agreed the sale of its Belgian unit BASE Company to local cable operator Telenet, leaving it with only its domestic operations plus a minority stake in Telefonica Deutschland of Germany.