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

To: MrGreenJeans who wrote (2501)	2/4/2000 9:31:00 AM
From: MrGreenJeans	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3175

FOCUS-KPN, France Telecom seen keen to buy Orange By Richard Baum LONDON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - France Telecom and KPN Telekom NV were seen on Friday as the most likely bidders for Orange Plc (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: ORA.L) as investors bet it will be an immediate takeover target once it is spun off in the wake of Vodafone's merger with Mannesmann . Vodafone Airtouch Plc (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: VOD.L) Chairman Chris Gent confirmed on Friday he planned to demerge Orange to meet U.K. competition concerns, with his preferred route being a distribution of Orange (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: ORA.L) shares to Vodafone stockholders in the second half of 2000. Orange, which Gent said will be controlled by trustees completely independently of Vodafone, would then obtain a stock market listing to enable its share to be traded, analysts said. That would almost guarantee Orange ends up with a new owner even if the European Union did not force Vodafone to shed the company through a trade sale rather than a spin off. Either way, there is no shortage of potential buyers of Orange. ``It's proven itself as a strong organisation and it has a brand name that can be understood in all markets in Europe,' said John Jensen, analyst at Salomon Smith Barney. OLD RIVALS MAY JOIN BATTLE AGAIN KPN, which is aiming to put itself among Europe's top three mobile firms and partners with Orange in Belgium, has already said it is interested in the company. France Telecom will also be keen, analysts said, especially after KPN defeated it in a tussle last year to buy German mobile operator E-Plus. ``Orange was looking at E-Plus while KPN was looking at E-Plus so they obviously have a common belief in the importance of the German market,' Jensen said. Shares in both potential bidders surged to record highs on anticipation of a deal, with KPN leaping 13 percent and France Telecom climbing six percent. ``People are optimistic (France Telecom) will succeed and there have been runours that it may be in a position to spin off its mobile stock which would create an equity currency which would enable it to bid for Orange on a more attractive basis,' said one analyst. MCI WORLDCOM A POSSIBLE BIDDER Another possible bidder is MCI WorldCom Inc (NasdaqNM:WCOM - news), the number two U.S. long-distance operator which is bidding for a licence to operate third generation mobile services in the UK. Analysts value Orange at some 20 billion pounds ($31.77 billion), around the level Mannesmann agreed to buy the company in October, though they say a bidding war could push the eventual purchase price significantly higher. The small amount of outstanding shares in Orange, which will delist from the London stock exchange next week when the Mannesmann deal completes, were trading at a price that valued the company at 30 billion pounds. In the end, Vodafone may be forced into a trade sale to satisfy the EU's competition concerns, lawyers said. ``It's hard to see anything other than a complete sale being enough,' said Tom McQuail, a partner at British law firm Lovell's in Brussels. ``The Commission will be looking as much as possible for the cleanest possible solution.' For its part, Orange, says it is looking forward to becoming an independent company again. A spokeswoman for the company, which has won five million customers through quirky advertising and innovative call price plans, said the fact that it could be about to change hands yet again was not distracting it from its business.