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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Moderated Thread - please read rules before posting -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: foundation who wrote (17908)	1/9/2002 7:15:11 AM
From: foundation	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 196653

KTF, LG All-Out to Block SK-Shinsegi Merger By Kim Deok-hyun Staff Reporter KTF and LG Telecom yesterday asked the Ministry of Information and Communication to block the proposed merger plan between SK Telecom and its unlisted sister company SK Shinsegi Telecom. The two companies said in an 11-page statement that the regulator should not endorse the deal without enforcing additional restrictive terms on the merged company. ``If the regulator approves the proposed marriage between SK Telecom and SK Shinsegi Telecom without any restrictive conditions, other runner-up rivals will find it difficult to survive in the market,'' the statement said. At the end of last year, SK Telecom and SK Shinsegi Telecom held a combined 14 million subscribers, accounting for 52.3 percent of the market. KTF and LG Telecom captured 33 percent and 14.7 percent shares each. ``Given SK Telecom's powerful cash reserve and marketing capability, excluding synergy effects from the merger, the company's market share is expected to reach 57.3 percent by the end of 2002,'' the statement said, adding it will intensify monopoly woes in the mobile phone service market. In case the merger is unavoidable, the two companies urged the government to impose a strong pricing regulation against SK Telecom as well as the government's mandatory cut on SK's marketing expenses. The current law allows the government to set the price of SK's mobile phone service, because it is a dominant player in the market. ``Our reaction is essential to build a healthy telecommunications environment, to promote customers' rights and convenience,'' the statement said. SK Telecom, a top mobile carrier, initially bought a 51.2 percent controlling stake in then-Shinsegi Telecomm in December 1999 from steel giant POSCO. It later bought additional stakes in Shinsegi, raising its stake in the unlisted unit to 70.4 percent. After the merger, the new SK Telecom will have capital of 44.58 billion won, with outstanding shares reaching 89.15 million. Meanwhile, the ministry is scheduled to hold a policy meeting on Jan. 11 to finally decide whether to approve the planned merger or not. kdh@koreatimes.co.kr ÀÔ·Â½Ã°£ 2002/01/09 16:53 hankooki.com