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Strategies & Market Trends : Telebras (TBH) & Brazil -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jerry A. Laska who wrote (6130)	7/30/1998 10:48:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22640

MasTec (NYSE:MTZ) says consortium wins Telebras unit Reuters, Thursday, July 30, 1998 at 22:27 MIAMI, July 30 (Reuters) - MasTec Inc. said that the consortium that bought the Telebras (NYSE:TBR) unit servicing 86 million people in Brazil has won the newly created fixed-line Telebras unit known as Tele Norte Leste Participacoes for a bid price of 3.4 billion reais, or $2.8 billion. MasTec said in a statement that Inepar S/A/ Industria e Construcoes is its 49 percent partner in the company's Brazilian telecommunications construction subsidiary and is a significant participant in the consortium., Tele Norte Leste will service the states of Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Espiritu Santo, Bahia and several other states in north and northeast Brazil. The region has about 6.5 million lines installed. MasTec and Inepar formed MasTec-Inepar S/A Sistemas de Telecomunicacoes last year to take advantage of anticipated increased demand for telecommunications infrastructure construction in the Brazilian market. MasTec owns 51 percent of MasTec-Inepar and Inepar owns the remaining 49 percent. A consortium led by Telefonica S.A. won the fixed-line unit known as Telesp, which services 34 million people in the state of Sao Paulo, and cellular units in Rio de Janeiro and Espiritu Santo. Telefonica is MasTec's largest customer worldwide. MasTec is a telecommunications and related infrastructure service provider. Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service

To: Jerry A. Laska who wrote (6130)	7/30/1998 11:01:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 22640

Iberdrola mulls a multi-utility future in Brazil Reuters, Thursday, July 30, 1998 at 22:03 By Adriana Brasileiro RIO DE JANEIRO, July 30 (Reuters) - Spanish power company Iberdrola (MADRID:IBE) said it bought parts of Brazilian telephone company Telebras (SAO:TELB4) to provide clients with a package of services, the company's Latin American director said. "It's the global service idea -- a family could be our client for power, water, gas, phone services, and whatever other services we can offer them," said Esteban Serra Mont, Iberdrola's director for Latin America. He spoke late Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro after the $19 billion privatization auction of Telebras' 12 units. Iberdrola, traditionally a power utility with 40 percent of Spain's distribution market, acquired cellular telephone provider Tele Leste Celular, which covers the states of Bahia and Sergipe in northeastern Brazil. The company led the consortium with a 62 percent stake while Telefnica de Espaa (MADRID:TEF) had 38 percent. A separate Telefnica-led consortium, which included Iberdrola with a seven percent stake, won massive fixed-line Telesp (SAO:TLSP3), the biggest of all the subsidiaries, with a bid of 5.78 billion reais ($4.98 billion). Iberdrola also bought a seven percent stake in mobile operator Tele Sudeste Celular, which covers the densely populated states of Rio de Janeiro and Espirito Santo. "Overall, we invested $665 million here today," Serra Mont said. The company has been building its presence in Brazil since last year, when it bought Bahia's state power utility Coelba (SAO:CEE), and natural gas companies SEG and Riogas in Rio de Janeiro. Much of Iberdrola's new phone operations lie in the same areas, allowing it to put in place its multi-utility plan. Serra Mont said Iberdrola does not have experience as a phone operator, but its partnership with Telefnica would provide a cost-effective way of tapping into a new market with existing Iberdrola clients. Iberdrola would be drawing up an investment plan for Brazil over the next three months. "We don't know these companies well. We want to study the situation before we can propose changes," Serra Mont said. He said Iberdrola planned to continue expanding in Brazilian water distribution and sewage treatment. "We will definitely be in the CEDAE auction, when it happens," Serra Mont said. CEDAE is water company owned by Rio de Janeiro state which serves 9.6 million customers. It is expected to be sold, but no privatization date has been announced. adriana.brasileiro@reuters.com)) Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service