FOCUS-Vodafone Pacific IPO may top expectations
(Adds details throughout, analyst quote in penultimate para)
By Richard Baum
LONDON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Vodafone Airtouch Plc (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: VOD.L) said on Monday it planned to float 20-25 percent of its Australasian business around June or July, indicating the stake could be larger than the 20 percent expected in the market.
The initial public offering will be one of the biggest in Australia this year and will make a small dent in the 25 billion euros ($24.73 billion) of debt Vodafone incurred in its takeover of Mannesmann AG.
A 25 percent sale could raise it A$4.1 billion ($2.59 billion) based on analysts' valuation of the business at A$16.4 billion.
The market was expecting Vodafone to sell 20 percent of Vodafone Pacific Pty, but a spokeswoman for the world's largest telecommunications company said it had never mentioned a specific level.
The company said last year it was considering an IPO in the first half of 2000 to meet regulatory conditions for a restructuring of its business in the region.
It is still working to that plan, but has not got as far as appointing advisers, the spokeswoman said.
``It's still very much an intention rather than an undertaking,' she added.
Vodafone owns 91 percent of Pacific, which is the third biggest mobile operator in Australia with more than 1.3 million customers. It also has some 400,000 users in New Zealand and 20,000 in Fiji. The region provided almost 10 percent of Vodafone's global revenue last year.
The reduction of its stake will be an unusual move for Vodafone, which generally likes to raise its holdings in its subsidiaries, said Jo Oliver, telecoms analyst at Lehman Brothers.
``But it does make financial and commercial sense,' because it will give the unit greater visibility, he added.
Vodafone trails Telstra Corp (Australia:TLS.AX - news) and Cable & Wireless Optus (Australia:CWO.AX - news) in Australia. Its other competitor in the region is Telecom New Zealand Ltd . |
