Danish telco TDC is within touching distance of being bought out as part of a $12bn (£7bn) take-over bid, reports the Financial Times. The paper cites unnamed sources who maintain that while the deal could still fall through even at this late stage, it does look as if TDC is about to become the latest telco to be snapped up.

A group of finance companies comprising Apax, Blackstone, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Permira and Providence are all chipping in to fund the take-over. An announcement is expected shortly, said the paper, although there is still a whiff of a chance that another group of investors could still have time to put together a rival bid.

Curiously, Swisscom was also recently linked with the possible take-over of TDC, although this looked to be torpedoed last week when the Swiss Government, which holds a 66 per cent stake in the telco, announced its intention to block any foreign expansion.

No one from TDC was available for comment at the time of writing. ®