UK telco Cable & Wireless Worldwide’s (CWW) shares have been climbing as reports point to renewed hope of takeover bids being submitted by Thursday’s ‘put up, or shut up’ deadline.
The shares closed up 4.9% to 37.20p on Friday, as Espirito…
UK telco Cable & Wireless Worldwide’s (CWW) shares have been climbing as reports point to renewed hope of takeover bids being submitted by Thursday’s ‘put up, or shut up’ deadline.
The shares closed up 4.9% to 37.20p on Friday, as Espirito Santo analysts suggested it was likely that its two potential suitors, UK-based mobile operator Vodafone and Indian telco Tata Communications, could both place significant bids for the fibre operator.
Although a bidding war could emerge as a result of this, Vodafone would be able to justify a higher premium than Tata, added the analyst note.
Separately, the Sunday Times, citing market sources, claimed that Vodafone could even place a bid in advance of the deadline imposed by the UK’s Panel on Takeovers and Mergers. However, Tata had yet to secure the financing it needs to mount an approach, added the report.
Reports on 22 March suggested Standard Chartered, which is also Tata’s financial adviser, was close to arranging a US$2bn loan to partly fund its potential bid.
On 13 February, Vodafone, which is being advised by UBS, became the first to confirm its interest in acquiring CWW, following reports that it was looking at submitting a £700m (US$1.09bn) cash offer. Tata announced its interest on 1 March. Both companies were given the same deadline to declare whether they planned to place takeover bids after their original dates were extended on CWW’s request.
CWW’s shares were trading at 38p as TelecomFinance was going to press, giving it a market cap of around £1bn. It has mandated Barclays Capital and Rothschild to advise it on a potential deal.
Vodafone and Tata were unable to comment on market speculation.
