Hutchison Whampoa Said to Be in Talks to Buy Orange Austria

Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. is in talks that may lead to the acquisition of Orange Austria, the mobile-phone operator owned by France Telecom SA and private-equity firm Mid Europa Partners, people familiar with the process said.

An agreement may be reached before year-end, one of the people said, declining to be identified because talks are private. The target could be valued at about 1 billion euros ($1.4 billion), according to Will Draper, an analyst at Espirito Santo in London.