GreecePanafon and France Telecom announced recently they are holding discussions regarding a possible offering or an issue of an exchangeable bond by France Telecom of all or part of its remaining 20-percent equity stake in Panafon. France Telecom sold a 15-percent stake in November...
During the last five weeks, merger and acquisition announcements have flooded the telecommunications arena. Carriers in Asia, Europe and North America continue to jockey for positions in an industry that promises to exclude players without multinational footprints.Telia/TelenorThe merger of Telia of Sweden and Telenor...
Mannesmann AG, parent of Germany's top mobile communications company, confirmed last week it made a bid to buy U.K. mobile carrier Orange plc, which Orange's largest shareholder accepted.The bid values Orange, the United Kingdom's third-largest mobile operator, at about $32 billion.Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa,...
NEW YORK-France Telecom last week proceeded toward its goal of becoming a pan-European provider of seamless mobile, wireline and Internet communications through an agreement to acquire controlling interest in E-Plus, Germany's third-largest wireless carrier.After the E-Plus acquisition, France Telecom will have about 17 million...
PARIS-France Telecom said it reached an agreement to buy Vodafone AirTouch plc's 17.24-percent interest in E-Plus Mobilfunk GmbH, Germany's third-largest mobile carrier, for $1.86 billion.Vodafone was required to sell its stake in E-Plus as part of its agreement to buy AirTouch Communications Inc. earlier...
France Telecom said it will sell its 2-percent stake in Deutsche Telekom next year, according to a Reuters report. France Telecom also said it expects changes in the shareholder structure of Global One, France Telecom's joint venture with Deutsche Telekom and Sprint Corp.Meanwhile, at...
SANDTON, South Africa-A wave of liberalization and privatization is transforming the cellular market in Africa. Countries riding high on this tide include South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Mauritius, C"te d'Ivoire, Kenya and Uganda.Pyramid Research predicts that only Angola, Burundi, Libya and Gambia will have...
LONDON-Moody's Investors Service Inc. placed on review for upgrade the Baa3 long-term ratings of both the $200 million senior notes due 2003 and the $800 million senior notes due 2008 issued by TPSA Finance B.V. irrevocably and unconditionally guaranteed by Telekomunikacja Polska S.A.Moody's said...
Ericsson signed a US$100 million contract with Diginet Americas to build out Diginet's fixed wireless networks throughout Latin America. The agreement makes Ericsson the preferred supplier to Diginet to provide ATM and IP-based equipment and services for the first pan-Latin America fixed wireless broadband...
United KingdomDeutsche Telekom is acquiring U.K. operator One2One from Cable & Wireless and MediaOne Group. Deutsche Telekom Chairman Ron Sommer called the acquisition "key" to Deutsche Telekom's international strategy and said it is an important step toward offering a cross-border mobile product.British Telecom (BT)...
AlbaniaIn the country's largest move to privatize to date, the Albanian Privatization Ministry said it is prepared to sell between 51 percent and 85 percent of Albanian Mobile Communications, the state mobile phone monopoly, to investors, according to a Reuters report. AMC began offering...
DUBLIN, Ireland-The mobile communications market in Eastern Europe offers massive untapped potential for cellular operators and market entrepreneurs. Indeed, some companies have already taken a stake in operators there, expecting exponential subscriber growth like those experienced in countries such as Sweden, Italy and Ireland....
WARSAW-Poland only received two bids by the Aug. 23 preliminary bid deadline for a 25-percent to 35-percent stake in government-controlled Telekomunikacja Polska (TPSA), according to press reports.The two bidders apparently are SBC Communications Inc. and France Telecom.Along with basic wireline services, TPSA has the...
PARIS-Paris-based France Telecom reported Aug. 12 that its consolidated revenues for the first six months of 1999 increased by 7.4 percent to $13.92 billion, compared with the same period last year.Mobile telecommunications revenues jumped by 43.4 percent to $2.5 billion, "mainly from the fast-paced...
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-France Telecom and Telecom Italia said they completed their joint acquisition of the 35-percent stake in Nortel Inversora S.A. in Argentina, previously held by Perez Companc and JP Morgan.The companies now own all (50 percent each) of Nortel's ordinary shares. Nortel is...
FranceFrance Telecom said it signed a partnership agreement with the Sonae group in Portugal. The two already have a working relationship as stakeholders in Optimus, the third mobile operator in Portugal. The new partnership would be held 43.33 percent by France Telecom and 56.67...
Rumors that Deutsche Telekom AG is in talks to buy British mobile phone company One2One for about $12 billion continued last week amid renewed speculation the German phone company might also be interested in buying Sprint Corp.Deutsche Telekom has been the subject of such...
Telecom Italia and France Telecom have agreed to increase their stakes from 32.5 percent each to 50 percent each in Nortel Inversora, the holding company that owns 60 percent of Telecom Argentina.The companies paid $265 million each for their increased shareholdings. The other 40...
PARIS-France Telecom Group said it will sell all of its shares in Deutsche Telekom next year, valued at about $2 billion.Jean-Louis Vinciguerra, France Telecom's executive vice president of finance, said France Telecom would sell its shares and that cooperation between the two companies to...
Deutsche Telekom AG has about $18 billion at its disposal after its $11-billion secondary offering last week, and speculation is running high about what acquisitions it will make in Europe and the United States."I will not name names today," Ron Sommer, chief executive of...
MEXICO CITY-Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. They're some of the smallest countries in the world, but at the same time, they're actively participating in the Latin American region's momentum for telecommunications development and growth. Indeed, the countries that make up...
Last week proved a significantly productive one for wireless data service bureau provider Saraide.com as the company acquired a value-added service provider in Europe and received a $5.5 million investment from L.M. Ericsson.The week also marked the first time the company's various satellite offices...
PARIS-France Telecom Mobiles and Nortel Networks announced France's first trial of a third-generation mobile communications network based on proposed standards for Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service."By staging this trial in France, France Telecom Mobiles will gain expertise on the 3G air interface and perform some...
Phone.com Inc., formerly Unwired Planet, has been tied to several announcements in the weeks preceding its impending initial public offering that have served to elevate the company to new levels of recognition.Most recently, Phone.com has been mentioned in conjunction with Sprint PCS and Nextel...
