Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: Chuzzlewit who wrote (2218)	12/18/1999 2:46:00 PM
From: MrGreenJeans	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3175

It's Showtime... Vodafone to Start Countdown on Mannesmann Bid With Formal Offer Document By Kate Norton Vodafone to Start Countdown on Mannesmann Bid With Formal Offer London, Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Vodafone AirTouch Plc, the world's largest wireless service provider, will set the clock ticking on its hostile $150 billion bid for Mannesmann AG next week when it makes a formal offer to shareholders of Germany's largest mobile phone company. Mannesmann investors will have about two months to mull the all-stock bid, worth 266.4 euros ($268) a share, after Vodafone issues the offer document in the coming days. Vodafone is going directly to shareholders after Mannesmann management rejected the offer as too low and said the companies' strategies didn't match. Though investors don't expect Vodafone to change the value of the offer, the document will spell out the cost savings, growth prospects and strategy of the combined company. Mannesmann will have 14 days to issue its defense document, where it will detail the case for remaining independent. ``There's been a lot of talk and little substance,' said Robert Vinall, an analyst at DG bank in Frankfurt. ``It will all become serious once the offer has been submitted.' Chief executives of both companies have already lobbied investors in a series of meetings in the U.S. and Europe in recent weeks. Those efforts are expected to intensify as the offer deadline looms, analysts said. Central to Vodafone's argument is its contention that a combined Vodafone-Mannesmann would dominate Europe's market for mobile phone services, which is expected to more than double in value by 2003. Better Off Alone? Mannesmann says it's better off alone with its strategy of combining traditional voice, data and mobile services. The company expects its phone units to grow 30 percent annually by following that strategy. Many shareholders will postpone a decision because events that occur during the offer period could affect the U.K. company's shares, and consequently, the value of the offer. Vodafone's share gains since the offer was made Nov. 19 have already added $16 billion to the value of the Mannesmann bid. The U.K. company says it needs the backing of investors holding 50.1 percent of Mannesmann. That would allow the U.K. company to make changes in the supervisory board and, later, the management board. The German company can count on the support of its largest shareholder, Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., which holds a 10 percent stake. Mannesmann's employees, which hold about 7 percent, are also expected to support the German company, analysts said. Though Vodafone Chief Executive Chris Gent has repeatedly said the bid is final, under German takeover rules the U.K. company can change the terms at any time, even after the offer document is published. Mannesmann said Friday there is ``no basis' to a New York Times report that executives at the company would consider the bid if it contained a cash element. Mannesmann Chief Executive Klaus Esser has said Vodafone would have to offer the German company's shareholders about 60 percent of a combined company, rather than the current 47 percent. Vodafone said it's still willing to discuss the offer with Mannesmann, though there has been no contact between the two CEOs. ``Chris Gent's door is still open,' spokesman Terry Barwick said.