Airtel Pact Reported; Vodafone, BT Decline Comment (Update1)
By Raphael Minder
Madrid, June 2 (Bloomberg) -- Vodafone AirTouch Plc, the world's largest wireless phone company, reached an agreement with British Telecom Plc that opens the way for Vodafone to take control of Airtel SA, Spain's second-largest wireless phone service, La Gaceta reported, without citing sources or details of the accord. BT is set to sell its 17 percent in Airtel within a year, a stake worth about 680 billion pesetas ($3.8 billion), possibly as part of an IPO in Airtel, according to the paper. Vodafone meanwhile is close to completing its talks to acquire Banco Santander Central Hispano SA's 30.5 stake of Airtel, according to the paper.
BSCH, the largest shareholder in Airtel, declined comment as did BT and Vodafone. Vodafone's chief executive Chris Gent said in a press conference earlier this week he expected the shareholding issues regarding Airtel would be settled in about a month. |
