Vodafone Agrees to Buy CWW for More Than £1.0 Billion
British mobile phone giant Vodafone on Monday said it had struck a deal to buy ailing telecoms firm Cable & Wireless Worldwide for more than £1.0 billion.
"Vodafone ... and Cable & Wireless Worldwide plc. are pleased to announce that they have reached agreement on the terms of a recommended cash offer pursuant to which Vodafone will acquire the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of CWW," Vodafone said a statement.
The offer values the entire issued ordinary share capital of CWW at around £1.044 billion (1.28 billion euros, $1.68 billion), Vodafone added.
"We are pleased to reach agreement with the board of Cable & Wireless Worldwide, who unanimously recommend our offer," Vodafone chief executive Vittorio Colao said in the statement.
"The acquisition of Cable & Wireless Worldwide ... brings attractive cost savings to our U.K. and international operations," he added.
Vodafone had first indicated in February that it was looking to bid for C&W, while India's Tata Communications dropped out of the takeover race earlier this month.
Cable & Wireless Worldwide is a global telecoms company that was set up in the 1860s to run the British empire’s communications network.
It was involved from the start in the laying of submarine cables around the world which linked the outposts of the British empire as it expanded in the 19th century.
Source: Agence France Presse
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