The possibility of a major shakeup in the UK wireless market was revealed over the weekend as Vodafone plc (NASDAQ: VOD) announced that it was in “the very early stages of evaluating the merits of a potential offer” for Cable & Wireless Worldwide plc (OTC: CBWWF). Vodafone owns about 40% of Verizon Wireless, the company’s joint venture with Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ).
Vodafone’s potential offer would likely be north of £700 million (about $1.1 billion), and under UK rules an offer must be made by March 13th. The potential price is based on a premium of 30% to C&WW’s closing price of around $0.31/share on Friday.
C&WW was hived off from Cable & Wireless Communications in 2010 and has struggled ever since. Shares have lost 75% of their value in the last year.
Word of the potential offer lifted C&WW shares by nearly 30%, to around $0.40/share this morning.
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