Monday September 6, 1:06 pm Eastern Time
Global buys stake in China venture
HAMILTON, Bermuda, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Global Crossing Ltd.,, which is building a underwater communications network, on Monday said it acquired a 49 percent stake of S.B. Submarine Systems Co. Ltd. (SBSS) from Great Eastern Telecommunications.
The purchase is part of Global Crossing's $888.2 million purchase earlier this year of Global Marine Systems Ltd., the undersea cable arm of Britain's Cable and Wireless Plc. Great Eastern is a joint venture between Cable & Wireless and Hong Kong Telecom, 54 percent owned by Cable & Wireless.
A Global Maine Systems representative said no funds or shares were involved in the acquisition, which was awaiting approval from China Telecom, which owns the controlling stake of SBSS.
SBSS had been responsible managing and installing submarine cable systems. China Telecom is owned by the central government of China and is that country's principal provider of telecommunications services.
China Telecom and Great Eastern formed SBSS, which has an annual revenue of more than $50 million, in 1995, Global Crossing said.
``This agreement ensures that SBSS will get the continued support in training and technology transfer it needs to keep up with the dramatic growth in Asia's telecommunications industry,' William Carter, president of Global Crossing's development and chairman of Global Marine Systems Ltd., said in a statement.
Under the agreement, Global Marine Systems Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Global Crossing, will continue to provide training and technology transfer to SBSS. |
