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Microcap & Penny Stocks : Globalstar Telecommunications Limited GSAT -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jeff Vayda who wrote (7724)	10/5/1999 10:42:00 AM
From: djane	Respond to of 29987

850,000 shares traded in 1st hour. Large volume yesterday as well. Portfolio managers seem to be accumulating G* in advance of the 10/10 Telecom '99 rollout and expected announcements.

To: Jeff Vayda who wrote (7724)	10/5/1999 10:46:00 AM
From: djane	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29987

WCOM interested in VOD? October 5, 1999 European Telecommunications Firms Bristle Filed at 10:27 a.m. EDT By Reuters LONDON (Reuters) - A block-busting $129 billion bid by aggressive U.S. upstart MCI WorldCom throws down the gauntlet to Europe's top telecoms operators as liberalization and a data revolution drive a wave of consolidation across the Atlantic. Bernie Ebbers, the colorful chief executive of America's number two long distance carrier Tuesday again made corporate history by beating his own previous best and clinching an agreed bid for Sprint, the number three long-distance group. But how long will he remain sated? Megadeals from cowboy-boot-wearing Ebbers are not, and analysts believe he is poised to turn his attention to Europe as this continent plays catch-up with a U.S. frenzy of record- breaking deals, fuelled partly by soaring share prices. An enlarged MCI WorldCom, whose assets include a state-of- the-art pan-European network, forms a formidable rival to Europe's biggest carriers Deutsche Telekom AG, British Telecommunications Plc and France Telecom. ``This really is a challenge for the likes of Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom,' said John Tysoe, telecoms analyst at WestLB Panmure. ``Ebbers's cost of capital is that much lower than theirs as he can raise money from highly-rated paper. ``This is going to lead to yet another wave of consolidation fever,' he added. Spurred by mounting competition on their home turf, the German and French groups are on the prowl for acquisitions while BT has become one of the most aggressive continental investors, building up a string of joint ventures in key markets. Certainly BT harbors few happy memories of Ebbers, who snatched its former partner MCI from under its nose in 1997. The company brushed aside questions about whether an increasingly powerful Ebbers posed a threat to its own pan- European aspirations. ``I don't want to be drawn into it at all...We're not commenting,' a company spokeswoman said. TEENAGE TELECOMS RULE It is the young that are leading the telecoms revolution. Vodafone AirTouch Plc has become the world's biggest cellphone firm after buying AirTouch in January. Highly acquisitive MCI Worldcom has become the second biggest long distance carrier in the world's biggest telecoms market. Both are just 16 years old. Analysts believe Ebbers, having tucked Sprint's wireless business Sprint PCS Group safely under his belt, could become the next, formidable new entrant for third generation mobile licenses which will be auctioned off in Europe next year. And he may not stop there. ``Conceivably, if he's really serious about mobile, he might even have a go at Vodafone AirTouch,' said one analyst. ``It does seem to me that the nature of WorldCom's success is that each successive deal has to be bigger to make it make more of a difference. And where is he going to stop?' But Ebber's agreed bid for Sprint muscled aside that of another acquisitive U.S. company -- BellSouth Corp, which operates in the southeastern part of the United States. Some analysts believe this group may seek growth in Europe and could eye the usual suspects such as Britain's Cable and Wireless Plc, high tech telecoms group Energis Plc and pan-European business group Colt Group Plc. ``At this stage, you can't rule anything out but it seems to me that BellSouth has been left out in the cold,' said one. A FINAL BLOW FOR GLOBAL ONE? Global One, an ill-fated international joint venture between Sprint, Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom has left the two Europeans with a 10 percent Sprint. Analysts are expecting the two to gratefully take the opportunity to dissolve the relationship, which has become increasingly fraught since Deutsche Telekom peeved its French partner by launching an abortive bid for Telecom Italia. The German giant, which was also tipped to be interested in buying Sprint, said it would cash it in its stake for a $7.5 billion profit and build a war chest for acquisitions and deals. Deutsche Telekom has staked its reputation on global expansion and has so far secured the 8.4 billion pound ($13.90 billion) purchase of British mobile phone group One2One. Analysts believe it is keen on a U.S. cellular presence. One tip is VoiceStream Wireless, the U.S. cellular phone group which is completing a takeover of U.S. peer Omnipoint Communications and which last month announced plans to buy Aerial Communications. It has also been tipped to be interested in Powertel Inc. Copyright 1999 The New York Times Company Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited.