Telecoms credit quality slides as private equity fuels debt fears

摘要

The value of European telecoms M&A deals last year was almost three times the levels seen in the previous three years, surpassing the ?100 billion mark for the first time since the dotcom boom, according to data from mergermarket, which tracks M&A activity across all sectors (see fig. 1). But investors are fearful that the influx of private-equity cash - and debt - into the sector could destabilise many firms in 2006.