[00-8-31] Takeover Fever Grips Australian Telecoms Market
By David Frith, Computer Daily News.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA,
31 Aug 2000, 11:44 AM CST
Takeover Fever Grips Australian Telecoms Market 08/31/00 SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 2000 AUG 31 (NB) -- By David Frith, Computer Daily News. Cable & Wireless Optus [ASX:CWO] shares jumped 5 percent on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) Wednesday as reports spread that Hong Kong telco Hutchison Whampoa and Japan's NTT are considering a joint offer for Australia's number two telephone company.
Both companies already operate in the Australian telecoms arena. Hutchison Whampoa owns about 70 percent of Down Under mobile operator Hutchison Telecommunications, while NTT has a 49 percent stake, said to be worth about A$120 million (US$68.8 million), in junior telco Davnet.
Speculation has been swirling around Optus since majority owner Cable & Wireless of the UK made it plain it would prefer to concentrate on its core European scene. The firm has just exited the Hong Kong arena with the spectacular US$38 billion sale of HKT to Richard Li's Pacific Century CyberWorks group - which is also involved with Telstra in a bold pan-Asian mobile, Internet Protocol (IP) backbone and data center joint venture.
The threatened entry of NTT and Hutchison could also spark interest in Optus by NZ Telecom, which holds a controlling interest in number three operator AAPT. An AAPT-Optus alliance would be powerful enough to challenge Telstra on several fronts - but observers say the strain on NZT finances could be formidable.
Optus shares closed at A$4.52 Wednesday, up 21 cents or about 5 percent. Hutchison Telecoms shares were up three cents at $2.81. NZ Telecom shares slid 20 cents to $4.94.
Meanwhile, shares in Melbourne-based Sausage Software [ASX:SAS] bounded ahead on the ASX, fueled by speculation about a possible takeover bid from the US. The shares jumped 41 cents - or about 23 percent - to close at $2.14, their best in some time.
An AAP report named US-based Internet company March First as a possible suitor. March First has a market capitalization of around US$3 billion, the newswire noted.
No statement was forthcoming from Sausage HQ in Melbourne.
Reported by Newsbytes.com, newsbytes.com
11:44 CST
(20000831/WIRES ASIA, TELECOM, BUSINESS/)
© 2001 The Washington Post Company
newsbytes.com |
