Hutchison arm reportedly in talks on One.Tel mobile network
2001-06-06
Terms and Conditions
Hutchison Whampoa's Australian telecommunications subsidiary is reportedly negotiating to buy a new mobile phone network from the stricken One.Tel group, which was placed in administration last week after accountants discovered a A$ 300 million (about HK$ 1.18 billion) black hole.
One.Tel, which was backed by more than A$ 900 million through an alliance between the Murdoch and Packer families, has contracted United States telecoms giant Lucent Technologies to build a A$ 1.1 billion network for third -generation mobile services.
Hutchison Telecommunications (Australia) and Telecom New Zealand combined last month in A$ 2 billion trans-Tasman alliance, Hutchison 3G Australia. It is now reportedly examining One.Tel's new network.
However, a source at Hutchison in Hong Kong said the rumours were "groundless".
"I can tell you that we're not interested in purchasing One.Tel," the source said.
One.Tel's ability to find a "white knight" to buy some of its assets is crucial to the survival of the company, which could be wound up as early as today by a creditor's meeting in Sydney.
For Hutchison Whampoa, any quick sale at One.Tel could rub salt into the wounds of the Murdochs, who are still reported to be angry over the sale of Star TV in 1993 after its founding by Pacific Century CyberWorks chief Richard Li Tzar-kai. News Corp still feels it overpaid when it bought Star TV for US$ 825 million in 1993.
Picking up the One.Tel network could also be a boost for Hutchison in Australia, as it has struggled to make headway against Telstra, Vodafone and Cable & Wireless Optus, despite the high-profile launch of the Orange brand last July.
Howard intervenes in One.Tel failure, Page 5
Terms and Conditions
Copyright© 2000 LEXIS-NEXIS, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights Reserved.
quamnet.com |
