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

To: MrGreenJeans who wrote (13)	9/7/1998 10:43:00 PM
From: MrGreenJeans	Respond to of 109

Vod-Ati Monday September 7, 1:11 PM Merger talk helps Vodafone as telecoms jump LONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - UK telecoms shares jumped on Monday following recent sharp falls, with cellphone market leader Vodafone Group Plc helped by renewed talk of a merger with U.S. peer Airtouch Communications Inc , analysts said. By 1030 GMT, Vodafone's shares leapt 6.52 percent, or 48p, to 783.5p while its only listed rival, Orange Plc , rose 15.5p to 587.5p. Vodafone, which has taken around 30 analysts on a tour of its European operations, has long been rumoured to be interested in Airtouch and the group has never officially denied that any talks have taken place. On Monday, the company again declined to be drawn on a fresh report in Britain's Observer newspaper that it was considering a 40 billion pound deal. "We don't comment on market rumour," a company spokesman said. Although some analysts say a deal between Britain's number one and America's number two cellular operator would make sense -- because the two companies' European operations do no overlap and would complement each other -- others questioned the logic. "It can make sense but I don't see the need of it," said Saeed Baradar, telecoms analyst at Morgan Stanley. "They have got 11 franchises, are growing quite well...and they are talking about listing Panafon (in Greece) and Libertel (in the Netherlands) to crystallize the value. "So to what end do you want to increase the portfolio?" he asked. But others said that Vodafone's strong position in northern Europe linked to Airtouch's strength in the south would create a formidable mobile telephone group in one of the world's fastest -growing industries. Since last year, Vodafone's market value has almost doubled, giving it a stronger bargaining position in any merger or alliance. And analysts believe the UK group would want to be the dominant partner in any such deal. The group's stock currently values it at about 24.4 billion pounds. Airtouch is valued at around 19 billion pounds. But Baradar believes Vodafone is undervalued. He values its UK operation at 16.8 billion pounds, its international portfolio at 16.5 billion pounds and recommends buying the shares to 10.75 pounds. Meanwhile, Cable and Wireless Plc, Britain's second biggest telecoms group, saw its stock surge 6.86 percent, or 40.5p, to 622p, helped by a 7.86 percent surge on the Hong Kong stock market at its close. C&W, which has seen its shares fall to a 45 percent discount to some analysts' sum of the parts valuations amid crumbling Asian stock markets, is the majority owner of Hong Kong Telecommunciations Ltd . --------------------------------------------------------------------------------