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

To: MrGreenJeans who wrote (2990)	10/7/2000 11:19:03 PM
From: MrGreenJeans	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3175

Times of London Vodafone bids for Irish mobile Francess McDonnell and Kirstie Hamilton VODAFONE is in talks to buy into the Irish mobile-telephone market. The discussions with the privatised Eircom group revolve around the possible sale of part or all of Eircell, its mobile arm. Vodafone, already the world's largest mobile operator, is one of a number of companies vying for the business, which is said to be worth £2.4 billion - more than 70% of Eircom's market value. The sale of a stake in Eircell to Vodafone would help revive Eircom's share price, which has fallen over the past year, by showing the hidden value within the group. It would also provide Eircell with a partner in Britain. Eircom recently bid for a third-generation British licence but was trumped by Vodafone. Esat Digifone, Eircell's rival in Ireland, has been bought by British Telecommunications, enabling Esat customers to use their phones in Britain without incurring high charges. Eircell needs to strike a similar roaming agreement with a British operator to maintain its edge, and such a deal is likely to form part of any equity sale. Eircom is thought to be considering both a partial sale and a full sell-off, although the outright sale is less likely. Neither operator would comment on the talks. "We are not going to comment on ongoing speculation about who we may be talking to," said an Eircom spokesman. Vodafone is expanding rapidly. Last week it bought a stake in China's biggest mobile operator for £1.7 billion. The investment will give it 2% of China Mobile (Hong Kong). Figures released last week showed it was making good progress in Britain. It added 877,000 new subscribers in the three months to September, making a total of 10.42m. Analysts say Vodafone's high share price stems from hopes of overseas expansion, so adding Ireland to the stable should be well received. "With the sale of Orange and the likely sale of Infostrada [an Italian phone business], Vodafone has huge flexibility to make acquisitions," said Andrew Beale, a Deutsche Bank analyst. The number of mobile phones in Ireland is expected to exceed the number of land lines this year, making the republic an attractive market for mobile operatorss.