Vod-Ati Possibility
Vodafone eyes 40 bln stg Airtouch deal-paper
LONDON, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Vodafone, Britain's largest mobile phone operator, is considering a potential 40 billion pound ($66.65 billion) merger with the U.S.'s Airtouch , the Observer newspaper said on Sunday.
It said industry sources had confirmed the two firms held talks last year, but could not agree a price. But it added since then Vodafone's value had more than doubled, making a deal more viable.
Vodafone was not immediately available for comment.
The paper said analysts believed Vodafone could turn the superior valuation of UK mobile phone companies compared with those on Wall Street to its advantage.
Airtouch, based in San Francisco, is America's second biggest moblie phone company and is valued at 19 billion pounds compared with Vodafone's 23 billion pounds, the paper said.
The Observer said both companies had extensive European operations, but little overlap. It said one suggestion was instead of a full merger, the two firms could decide to pool those European operations in a separate company, leaving Vodafone and Airtouch in sole charge of their domestic markets.
($1=.6001 Pound)
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