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Technology Stocks : Vodafone-Airtouch (NYSE: VOD) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: David Wiggins who wrote (2016)	10/20/1999 2:12:00 PM
From: MrGreenJeans	Respond to of 3175

Mannesmann To Pay Dearly For Orange By Kirstin Ridley LONDON (Reuters) - Mannesmann AG, the aggressive German concern vying for control of British cellphone group Orange Plc (Nasdaq:ORNGY - news), looks set to pay around two thirds more than rival Deutsche Telekom invested to cross the Channel. Analysts said Wednesday Mannesmann might be negotiating a deal that would value Britain's third-biggest cellphone group at about $30 billion. Such a value would equate roughly to a price per customer that is significantly more than was paid in August by Mannesmann's arch-rival Deutsche Telekom for One2One, the smallest of Britain's four cellphone firms. ``I think image wise and brand wise, Orange definitely deserves a premium to One2One, but does it deserve to account for so much more?' asked Tressan Maccarthy, telecoms analyst at Credit Lyonnais Laing. Speculation about deals in the mobile sector has not stopped at Mannesmann and Orange. Fears that market leader Vodafone Airtouch Plc (NYSE:VOD - news) may be considering a bid for Mannesmann to stymie the German group's move sent Vodafone's stock lower, making it the biggest loser in the FTSE 100 index. ``People are worrying that Vodafone might make a bid for Mannesmann...plus the stock has had a huge run and it's on a big premium rating,' said a senior dealer at one leading investment bank. A merger of Mannesmann and Orange would deal a blow to the European aspirations of Vodafone, given that Vodafone and Mannesmann are partners in Germany, Italy and France. Valuing Prospects Analsyts said valuing mobile telephone companies remains an inexact science. Crude valuations per subscriber can be distorted if applied to fast growing relative newcomers like Orange, which is the youngest and arguably the most aggressively innovative of the four operators. Orange, floated in 1996, shook the industry by introducing per-second billing and is the first to have produced a prototype videophone as the market gears up for next generation of high tech mobile licences. Both Orange and One2One have purely digital networks and both lose money. Make a name for yourself online! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: David Wiggins who wrote (2016)	10/21/1999 7:41:00 AM
From: MrGreenJeans	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 3175

It's "business as usual" says Vodafone Airtouch LONDON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Vodafone Airtouch Plc (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: VOD.L) said on Thursday it was business as usual, despite a $33 billion bid by its European partner Mannesmann for Britain's number three mobile 'phone company Orange Plc (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: ORA.L). A company spokesman said that Vodafone's strategy remained to increase its stakes in international operations where it could. However, with Mannesmann controlling two key operations in Germany and Italy he said it looked ``a bit unlikely' that it would be able increase investments there. ``There are always countries where you can't do what you want to do but things change very quickly and opportunities arrive,' he said. Mannesman controls D2-Mobilfunk in Germany, where Vodafone holds a 34.8 percent stake. It also controls a 55 percent stake in Omnitel Pronto Italia Spa, the number two carrier in Italy, in which Vodafone Airtouch holds 21.6 percent. He declined to be drawn on whether Vodafone Airtouch might launch a defensive bid for Mannesmann.

To: David Wiggins who wrote (2016)	10/22/1999 10:02:00 PM
From: MrGreenJeans	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3175

Vodafone looks at bid for Mannesmann By Hugo Dixon in London and Richard Waters in New York Vodafone AirTouch is considering taking an unsolicited offer for Mannesman directly to the German company's shareholders, going over the head of its management. The UK company is being advised by Goldman Sachs, which was also one of the three banks that advised Orange, another UK wireless communications company, in its takeover by Mannesmann. It was the œ18bn acquisition of Orange, announced earlier this week, that has stung Vodafone into considering its unusual move. Hostile foreign bids for German companies are still rare, and Mannesman's anti-takeover defences would make any unsolicited offer difficult. Goldman has been poring over the German company's defences to see whether there are any chinks in the armour that would make a bid possible. One option, discussed by Vodafone's board at a meeting earlier this week, would be to appeal to the German telecommunications and engineering company's shareholders directly in order to put pressure on the company's board to agree terms. But Vodafone has made no definite decision and it may still balk at an assault given the difficulty of mounting unsolicited bids in Germany. Moreover, it believes it does not need to rush out an offer and could wait months before moving. Mannesmann's market capitalisation is E54bn ($57bn). But after the acquisition of Orange, which is being paid for mostly by issuing new shares, the value would exceed E70bn. Any bid would have to be at a premium to this. Vodafone is uncertain whether to bid because of Mannesmann's strong takeover defences. But it believes these may not be impregnable as the German company's shares have fallen 7.2 per cent this week on fears that it has overpaid for Orange. Vodafone accepts it cannot derail Mannesmann's acquisition of Orange because the German company has no need for shareholder approval for the purchase. Moreover, under the City of London's Takeover Code, Mannesmann would not even be able to pull its bid if there was a change of ownership or its own executives changed their minds. The only way the bid could fail would be if Mannesmann did not receive 50 per cent acceptances from Orange shareholders. This is considered extremely unlikely since Orange's major shareholder, Hutchison Whampoa, has already pledged its 45 per cent stake. Because of this, Vodafone would plan to resell Orange if it acquired Mannesmann. Goldman is believed to be examining a provision in Mannesmann's articles of association preventing any shareholder voting a stake of over 5 per cent. It is also looking to see whether a stipulation in German law that hostile bids must receive 75 per cent approval is watertight.