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

To: MrGreenJeans who wrote (2064)	11/12/1999 1:41:00 PM
From: David Wiggins	Respond to of 3175

I think emotion is playing too big a role here. You may be right, but if you are, I fear the price will be too high. Given time, Vodafone will grow it's share value greater than Mannesman making it a much better deal. Right now, I feel anyone who buys Mannesman will pay too much. Regards, Dave

To: MrGreenJeans who wrote (2064)	11/13/1999 1:12:00 PM
From: David Wiggins	Respond to of 3175

Vodaphone Said Poised To Make Bid LONDON (AP) - Vodafone AirTouch PLC (NYSE:VOD - news), the world's largest mobile phone company, is preparing an offer to take over Germany's Mannesmann AG in what could be the largest takeover ever, according to published reports today. Vodafone was planning to make an offer valued at more than $100 billion for Mannesmann, and is prepared to proceed with a hostile bid if Mannesmann refuses, the Financial Times reported. The New York Times, which reported that Vodafone may announce its bid on Monday, valued the deal at more than $117 billion. That would eclipse the record $115 billion purchase last month of Sprint by MCI Worldcom, a deal still pending before U.S. regulators. Vodafone announced Friday in London that it was evaluating ways to develop its relationship with Mannesmann but had not settled on a specific proposal. The company said it ``continues to evaluate a broad range of opportunities to participate in the further consolidation of the global wireless market.' The Financial Times said Vodafone intends to make an all-share offer for Mannesmann's stock. Vodafone's interest stems from Mannesmann's friendly $32.9 billion takeover of Orange PLC (Nasdaq:ORNGY - news), the smallest of Britain's four mobile telephone carriers. Vodafone has had a close relationship with Mannesmann - it owns 35 percent of the German company's mobile telephone business. If Vodafone acquires Mannesmann, it is likely to dispose of Orange and of Mannesmann's non-telecommunications operations, the Financial Times said. Mannesmann still must obtain approval from Orange shareholders for the deal, but Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa, Orange's biggest shareholder, already has agreed to the purchase price. Mannesmann, an engineering firm, has evolved into Germany's No. 1 mobile company since buying two Italian phone companies this year in a deal with Olivetti SpA. Mannesmann also dropped out of the bidding for the British mobile firm One2One, and German rival Deutsche Telekom bought One2One for $11 billion in August.

To: MrGreenJeans who wrote (2064)	11/13/1999 7:27:00 PM
From: David Wiggins	Respond to of 3175

Flurry of Offers to Buy Mannesmann LONDON (Reuters) - Vodafone AirTouch Plc (NYSE:VOD - news), British Telecommunications Plc (NYSE:BTY - news) and Bell Atlantic have made separate proposals to acquire Germany's Mannesmann AG, two British newspapers said in their Sunday editions. Both newspapers -- The Sunday Times and Sunday Telegraph -- said Vodafone's chief executive Chris Gent was flying to Duesseldorf on Sunday to ask Mannesmann's chief executive Klaus Esser to accept his offer. Esser is widely expected to spurn Gent's offer, setting in motion the world's biggest corporate bid battle, the newspapers said. Mannesmann's board meets on Friday and the Sunday Times said the board is likely to oppose any offer of less than 250 euros per share. The flurry of offers for the German telecoms and engineering group have been triggered by Mannesmann's planned 19.8 billion pound acquisition of British mobile phone company Orange Plc (Nasdaq:ORNGY - news), thwarting Vodafone's ambition to become Europe's leading mobile phone group. The Sunday Times said Vodafone was prepared to make an offer of almost 75 billion pounds ($121.4 billion), valuing Mannesmann at some 215 euros per share, well above its closing price of 185.30 euros on Friday in Germany. Spokesmen for Vodafone and British Telecom declined to comment on the newspaper reports. However, industry sources said it was likely that Vodafone would make its offer as reported by the newspapers. Bt Looking To Europe The Sunday Telegraph said British Telecom had made a friendly offer to Mannesmann as it would be eager to extend its reach into Europe and gain more control over Cegetel, the French group in which both it and Mannesmann have 26 percent stakes. Bell Atlantic, which is Vodafone's partner in the eastern region of the U.S., has also made a friendly offer to Mannesmann because it is unhappy about Vodafone establishing such a dominant position in Europe. Other white knights that have approached Mannesmann include U.S. telecoms groups SBC and MCI WorldCom, the Sunday Telegraph said. Earlier on Saturday the Financial Times reported that Vodafone was planning a 100 billion euros friendly takeover proposal to Mannesmann, but it was prepared to make a hostile bid if its initial advances were rebuffed. Mannesmann is taking seriously the threat of a hostile takeover bid by Vodafone, according to Esser. ``My personal impression is that efforts by Vodafone to prepare a takeover bid are concrete,' Esser said in an interview published in Saturday's edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). Vodafone AirTouch gave its first public indication on Friday that it might bid for Mannesmann. Vodafone, the world's biggest mobile telephone operator, said it was looking at ways to develop its ``existing longstanding relationship' with its strategic partners in Germany, Italy and France but had not reached a decision on new strategic moves. But Mannesmann's Esser vowed to ward off any hostile takeover bids, the FAZ newspaper reported. Mannesmann aimed to persuade shareholders that maintaining its independence best served their interests, he added. The Sunday Times said Vodafone would bid for both Mannesmann and Orange and then sell Orange -- either to a trade buyer or less likely by floating it on the stock market -- to avoid being blocked by competition authorities. Mannesmann could be forced to sell Orange Plc, the British mobile phone company it has agreed to buy for 19.8 billion pounds, under UK competition rules, if Vodafone succeeded in a takeover attempt, Esser told the paper. A forced sell-off of Orange threatened to fragment the company's telecommunications business, he said. Mannesmann shares climbed 3.69 percent to 185.30 euros on Friday after hitting a new life-time high of 188.50 euros.

To: MrGreenJeans who wrote (2064)	11/14/1999 4:35:00 PM
From: David Wiggins	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3175

Mannesmann AG Rejects Vodafone Bid LONDON (AP) - Mannesmann AG, the German telecommunications giant, said Sunday it had rejected an unsolicited takeover bid from Vodafone AirTouch PLC (NYSE:VOD - news) as ``wholly inadequate.' Mannesman's announcement followed a meeting between its chief executive, Klaus Esser, and Vodafone's chief, Chris Gent. There was no immediate comment from Vodafone, which now has the option of pursuing a hostile takeover attempt which could be the largest in corporate history.