Goldman Sachs and Société Générale are set to benefit from the appointment of Thierry Bréton, executive chairman of Thomson Multimedia, as the new chief executive officer of France Télécom.

Both banks have enjoyed a close relationship with Bréton at Thomson and advised the consumer electronic group on a number of acquisitions as well as block share trades. In December 2000 they advised Thomson on its $2.6bn (€2.64bn) acquisition of Technicolor from Carlton Communications.