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Technology Stocks : Newbridge Networks -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jeff greene who wrote (10858)	4/17/1999 12:36:00 AM
From: pat mudge	Respond to of 18016

100,000 shares at bell, 36 3/8? You have to be serious to buy that much going into the week-end. The over-all volume the last few days has been pretty impressive. I know there's no correlation, but here's the latest on the Deutsche Telecom - Telecom Italia talks: TELECOM ITALIA/DEUTSCHE: Government talks By James Blitz in Rome and Ralph Atkins in Bonn The Italian and German governments held preliminary talks yesterday on the possibility of a merger between Telecom Italia and Deutsche Telekom, as Rome confirmed it had been formally presented with proposals for such a move. Following the Financial Times' disclosure that the two groups are in advanced talks, Massimo D'Alema, Italian prime minister, held a telephone conversation with Gerhard Schroeder, the German chancellor, to discuss the possibility of such an alliance. The talks took place as Italian ministers confirmed that a plan for a merger had been formally presented to the Treasury by Franco Bernabe, Telecom Italia chief executive. Speaking at a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Dresden, Vincenzo Visco, Italy's finance minister, said Mr Bernabe had informed Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, treasury minister, of the proposed merger late on Thursday night. However, Mr Visco warned the proposal had "technical problems" - in particular, that Deutsche Telekom would have to be fully privatised by the German government, "otherwise it would be like selling Telecom Italia to the German state". But a cautious welcome came from Romano Prodi, president-designate of the European Commission and a former Italian prime minister. "If this merger had a 50-50 structure it would probably be very positive," Mr Prodi said. Mr Prodi's support for any deal would be important if, as expected, it were analysed by the Commission on competition grounds. However, Mr Prodi said various aspects, including links between Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom, would need to be worked out. The French and German operators have 2 per cent cross-shareholdings and are partners in several projects, including the Global One joint venture with Sprint of the US. France Telecom said yesterday it had not been notified by Deutsche Telekom of the talks with Telecom Italia. Both Deutsche Telekom and Telecom Italia remained silent on their discussions yesterday, with the German group again saying it would not take part in "speculation". The initial reaction by the Bonn government - Deutsche Telekom's largest shareholder - was positive, although it insisted any decision would be for the company's management. "We would welcome anything that makes Deutsche Telekom competitive and strong," the finance ministry said. The German government holds 48 per cent of Deutsche Telekom, with the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, the publicly-owned development bank, holding a further 24 per cent. The finance ministry's stance yesterday indicated a willingness to take a flexible stance if necessary. A faster-than-planned reduction in the state's holding could become part of any deal at the insistence of Italy. The German government is prevented from selling its Deutsche Telekom shares until the end of this year, but no plans have been fixed for the speed of subsequent disposals.