Vodafone Views Offer for Cable & Wireless (VOD, CBWWF, VZ)

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…

Published February 13, 2012, 7:03am ET · 1 min read

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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Paul Ausick

Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.

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