Comcast may seek proxies from AT&T shareholders
WASHINGTON, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Cable television operator
Comcast Corp. said on Thursday that it may go
directly to shareholders of AT&T Corp in a bid to acquire
the group's broadband cable TV unit.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission, Comcast, the nation's third-largest cable TV
company, said it may seek proxies from AT&T shareholders and
also may register with the SEC the Comcast shares that may be
used in the proposed transaction.
"Comcast may file with the commission a preliminary proxy
statement for solicitation of proxies from the shareholders of
AT&T Corp. in connection with AT&T's broadband tracking stock
proposal and a registration statement to register the Comcast
shares to be issued in the proposed transaction," the
Philadelphia-based company said in the filing.
AT&T is in the midst of a massive restructuring to split
its major businesses -- broadband, business, consumer and
wireless -- into three separate companies with four stocks. The
wireless telephone business, AT&T Wireless , was
separated on July 9.
In early July, Comcast made an unsolicited bid of about
$44.5 billion in shares for AT&T Broadband, the No. 1 U.S.
cable company, after months of talks with AT&T failed.
The deal would create the world's largest cable operator,
with 22 million subscribers, nearly twice the size of No. 2
U.S. cable operator AOL Time Warner Inc. .
Comcast shares fell sharply after the bid was made, trading
at $38.27, up $0.20, on Thursday on the Nasdaq.
REUTERS
Rtr 14:53 08-02-01 |
