France Telecom will apparently complete its bailout of slumping Equant, even as the latter admitted that 2005 will be "a very difficult year."

Equant today announced that it had held a special meeting of its Supervisory Board in Amsterdam to review a proposal from France Telecom to acquire the company's remaining assets. France Telecom is already the majority shareholder in Equant, and is now offering to buy the remaining 45.8% of the company for $731 million. A special committee appointed by Equant's supervisory board will review that offer, the company said.

France Telecom acquired its majority holding in 2000, but has yet to see any profits from Equant, which has been losing money ever since. The latest France Telecom move could lead to Equant's integration into the parent company.

Equant has asked for, and received, a $250 million credit facility from France Telecom that the company stated is necessary for it to survive 2005, when it expects to undergo a major writedown of assets, and "further deterioration" of financial results, the company said.

Equant offers end-to-end global services for businesses, focusing on virtual private networks and advanced data services.