LONDON (ShareCast) - Spanish telecoms giant and O2 owner Telefonica has denied that it is planning to bid for any part of Royal KPN's assets despite earlier reports.

Dutch public broadcaster NOS claimed this morning that KPN was negotiating the sale of its German business E-Plus to the Spanish group.

Similarly, news agency Bloomberg reported that KPN and Telefonica were looking to combine German mobile assets, citing people familiar with the matter.

The Dutch firm is said to be searching for investors in China and the Middle East after Carlos Slim's America Movil issued an offer to increase its stake of the company, according to the local press, as the Mexican billionaire looks to increase its presence in the European market. KPN considered the offer to be too low.

On Thursday, Telefonica announced that it was considering the floatation of its German division of O2. The announcement may have sparked this latest speculation in the European telecoms sector.

Telefonica’s shares were trading 0.31% higher at €8.97 by 15:05 in Madrid, while KPN was up 0.61% at €7.69 in Amsterdam.

MG

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