The board of Vivendi, the French media and utilities group, meets in Paris today amid speculation that it could seal an alliance with Mannesmann, rescuing the German telecoms group from the clutches of Vodafone.

With 10 days to the closing date of Vodafone's £95bn hostile bid for Mannesmann, the French group is said to be considering offering a stake to its German partner in Cég&~233;tel, the French mobile phones firm.

Mannesmann owns 15% of Cégétel, in which Vivendi owns 44%, and is rumoured to be ready to sell Orange, the mobile phone operator it bought for £20bn last autumn, to the French group.

The reawakening of interest in Vivendi as a potential white knight for Mannesmann prompted a dismissive response from Vodafone - itself cited in the French media as a potential Vivendi partner.

Mannesmann yesterday also sought to underline its independent future by unveiling a deal with the French software group Cap Gemini to bundle together their e-commerce and internet-related activities.

The deal involves a series of joint ventures, including one to promote "web-hosting" which is said to promise sales in the business-to-business segment worth £625m a year within four years.

Mannesmann said it remained confident of winning majority backing for its defence against Vodafone's bid, claiming almost total backing among German retail investors, who own 10% of its equity.

Hutchison-Whampoa, the Hong Kong group which sold it Orange, has pledged its 10% stake and the German group expects substantial support from German and other Euroland institutions, which command 30%.

It concedes that Vodafone is ahead among US and UK investors.