Sprint Says Restructuring Of Global One Possible
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sprint Corp. (NYSE:FON - news), the No. 3 U.S. long distance telephone
company, said Thursday it is in talks with its international partners and that a restructuring of their joint
venture, Global One, is possible.
''The three partners of Global One are in ongoing discussions to address alignment of their respective
international strategies. These discussions include the possibility of restructuring the ownership of Global One,'' Sprint Chief
Financial Officer Art Krause said in a conference call following the company's second quarter earnings report.
Sprint's partners include Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE:DT - news) and France Telecom (NYSE:FTE - news) . Analysts
have said the fate of the money-losing venture remains in question following Global One's recent announcement that its chief
executive, Gary Forsee, would step down this month.
The partners also have clashed over the strategy and direction of Global One, which provides telecommunications services
to multinational corporations, analysts have said.
Sprint did not provide additional details but said it is committed to ''a prompt resolution'' of these discussions.
Sprint said Global One's second quarter revenues were $241 million, about 7 percent below the year-ago quarter. Revenues
continue to be hurt by regional global economic conditions and competitive pricing pressures, Sprint said.
Sprint's share of losses from Global One were $63 million in the second quarter, compared to $42 million a year ago. |
