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

To: Chuzzlewit who wrote (2191)	11/29/1999 9:18:00 PM
From: MrGreenJeans	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3175

MANNESMAN: Numbers game fails to thrill By Vincent Boland and Alan Cane Mannesmann crammed some 100 analysts and telecoms specialists into several small rooms at London's Savoy Hotel yesterday to hear its much-anticipated defence against Vodafone AirTouch's hostile bid. The German company's top executives later met journalists in an airy and comfortable ballroom where everyone had their own chair. Usually it is the other way around. Analysts attending the four-hour morning presentation said Mannesmann had clearly underestimated interest in the world's biggest hostile takeover bid in what is probably the most widely-followed industry sector. It is understood that just over 50 analysts were invited but more than 100 turned up. Some of those not invited were unimpressed at being overlooked and at the scarcity of presentation packs containing all the figures unveiled by Klaus Esser, chairman of Mannesmann's management board, and his team of top executives. The atmosphere was "almost subdued", said one disappointed analyst. "I'm not sure we learnt anything new today." "We had expected Mr Esser to pull a rabbit out of the hat in his telecommerce strategy, but he said he was not going to spin off the internet business and that is not an avenue which will improve value in the share price. "His plans for the fixed wire business were more aggressive than I had expected, but on this performance nothing has changed my mind that Vodafone can and will win." Much of what Mr Esser and his team said, particularly about expansion of internet services and mobile operations in Germany, "made a lot of sense", said Steve Jobber, telecoms analyst at Paribas. "But it was not a knock-out blow." Another said it was a "typical" Mannesmann performance: "Slick and well put together, but the apparent openness conceals a slight lack of detail." One of Mannesmann's main defences against the Vodafone bid is its strategy of integrating mobile and fixed-line networks. The company has sought to emphasise the difference between itself and Vodafone by highlighting this strategic issue - Vodafone is almost entirely a purely mobile company. But analysts said they were not convinced by Mannesmann's strategy because returns on capital employed in mobile operations were higher than that for fixed-line operations. Orange, Mannesmann's new UK acquisition, has long been dismissive of the value of integrating mobile and fixed-line services. Despite Mr Esser's insistence that Mannesmann is worth far more than either the market or Vodafone anticipates, the company's shares closed 2 per cent higher at E204.50 while Vodafone slipped 3p to 295¬p. At that price, Vodafone's offer for Mannesmann is worth about E251.60 a share. "One of the striking things yesterday was the inflated multiples Mannesmann attaches to its assets," another analyst said. "I suspect that Mannesmann's saying that it's worth a lot more [than Vodafone's valuation] will matter less and less now, and that the value put on the table by Vodafone will begin to matter more and more