$53B Offer for VoiceStream
THURSDAY, JULY 20, 2000 12:04:00 AM EST
BELLEVUE, Wash., Jul 20, 2000 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- Shares of VoiceStream Wireless Corp. rose more than 16 percent in after-hours trading on Wednesday after it was reported that Deutsche Telekom has sweetened its bid for VoiceStream, valuing the company at about $53 billion.
The Bonn, Germany-based telecommunications giant's latest bid is "on the table" and the two sides continue serious discussions, The Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.
There was no indication whether VoiceStream would accept the bid. A phone message seeking comment from VoiceStream, left after business hours Wednesday, was not immediately returned.
There were published reports last week speculating that Deutsche Telekom, eager to enter the U.S. communications market, would be willing to pay $30 billion for VoiceStream, which operates a nationwide wireless network. A Deutsche Telekom spokesman called those reports speculative.
Under terms of the latest bid being discussed, Deutsche Telekom has offered a fixed exchange ratio of 3.2 shares of its stock plus $30 a share in cash for VoiceStream, which would value VoiceStream at $205.60 a share, the Journal reported.
In after hours trading, VoiceStream was trading at $169.688, climbing $24.188, or by 16.6 percent, from Wednesday's closing price of $145.50 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
There have been recent indications of a possible bidding war for VoiceStream.
On Friday, there was talk of a possible $52 billion offer for VoiceStream from NTT DoCoMo Inc., the wireless unit of Japan's Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp.
France Telecom and San Antonio, Texas-based SBC Communications Inc. have also been reported as potential VoiceStream suitors.
VoiceStream is one of the nation's last independent nationwide wireless carriers. It is also the only U.S. wireless phone network that uses global system for mobile communications, or GSM, the most popular digital cellular standard outside the United States.
Deutsche Telekom, Europe's largest wireless carrier, also uses GSM technology.
Deutsche's overtures come as the German telecommunications company is weighing a number of options - including a possible bid for Qwest Communications International Inc. or Sprint Corp. - to establish a beachhead in the United States.
Kim Thompson, spokeswoman for VoiceStream, Bellevue, Wash., has previously declined comment on recent reports of buyout bids.
Copyright 2000 Associated Press, All rights re |
