FILE PHOTO: Swiss telecom company Sunrise's logo is seen at an office building in Zurich, Switzerland February 28, 2019. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

ZURICH (Reuters) - German telecoms group Freenet, the largest shareholder in Switzerland’s Sunrise Communications, said it remains open for talks after it criticized Sunrise’s planned takeover of Liberty Global’s Swiss UPC business.

“Despite Sunrise’s unacceptable behavior, Freenet and its representatives are still available for constructive dialogue in the interests of Sunrise, existing shareholders and Freenet. However, we will consider all legal and commercial ways and means to fend off damage to Freenet and existing shareholders and to seize opportunities...”, it said in a statement.

Sunrise on Thursday escalated its defense of its planned 6.3 billion Swiss franc ($6.41 billion) takeover of UPC, saying it had found new synergies and could cut a planned rights issue to fund the deal that Freenet has criticized. Freenet said many investors and analysts shared its view.