Spanish telecom group Telefonica consideris selling its phone directory unit, TPI

Spanish telecom group Telefónica has announced that it is considering selling its phone directory unit, TPI. This comes soon after its ??17.7 billion ($26 billion) takeover of UK mobile operator O2.

Telefónica owns 60 per cent of TPI, a stake worth about Euro 1.9 billion at current market prices that value TPI at around Euro 3 billion. TPI’s profit in 2005 rose 10 per cent to Euro 127 million, on sales of Euro 654 million. Last year, it bought BellSouth mobile units in Latin America for $5.85 billion and spent Euro 3.6 billion on a 70 per cent stake in Cesky Telecom as part of its growth plans.