Vodafone Bids A$18 Billion for Cable & Wireless, Paper Says
By Gavin Evans
Sydney, Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Vodafone Group Plc's Australian unit offered A$18 billion ($10 billion) for Cable & Wireless Optus Ltd., making it the top bidder for Australia's No.2 phone company, the Australian newspaper reported.
Vodafone, Australia's third largest mobile phone operator, has offered three bid scenarios, one of which could push the price to A$25 billion, including takeover costs, capital gains tax, and the assumption of Optus' A$2 billion of debt, the newspaper said, without citing sources. Vodafone has also offered to make its mobile network open to other users to satisfy competition concerns.
The Australian estimated that including debt, Cable & Wireless is worth about A$15 billion. New Zealand's Telecom Corp. and Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. are expected to bid for parts of the company, while British television company Granada Media Plc and Leighton Holdings Ltd. have offered to buy the Optus consumer and multimedia division.
In September, Sydney-based Optus said it would consider offers for its cellular, consumer and data businesses. Cable & Wireless Plc of London wants to focus on corporate and government customers, where profit margins are higher than in consumer telephone service. |
