VODAFONE 'LIKELY WINNER'! CINGULAR WONT RAISE BID

[GoodmanR]

Cingular Won't Raise Bid
For AT&T Wireless

As the bidding war for AT&T Wireless Services Inc. stretched late into the night on Monday, Cingular Wireless declined to raise its $38 billion offer, according to people familiar with the matter.


By Almar Latour, Jesse Drucker and Robin Sidel in New York and David Pringle in London



Though the situation remained fluid, some said Britain's Vodafone Group PLC could go as a high as $39 billion, or $14.50 a share. That appeared to pave the way for Vodafone emerge as the likely winner, said people close to both sides.

However, the board of AT&T Wireless, which had spent nearly all day meeting to pick a winner, had still not made an official announcement and the carrier was locked in talks with both Cingular and Vodafone over details of their respective takeover proposals.

Meanwhile, Vodafone has scheduled a board meeting for Tuesday morning, apparently to discuss the company's latest offer, according to people familiar with the situation.

After waiting until the last minute to jump in, Vodafone is being much more aggressive in pursuing the carrier than many observers had initially thought and now appears to be as determined as Cingular to win control of the country's No. 3 wireless carrier.

Nextel Communications Inc. and NTT DoCoMo Inc. both failed to enter bids, people familiar with the situation said, meaning the contest to buy AT&T Wireless is a two-horse race. People close to the situation said a decision between Vodafone and Cingular could come soon, though AT&T Wireless has given itself two weeks to make a decision, if necessary.

Until now, analysts considered Cingular the favorite to acquire AT&T Wireless, figuring it could afford to pay more than Vodafone because it could save costs by combining its existing network with that of AT&T Wireless. The board of AT&T Wireless met Sunday afternoon after receiving the revised bids, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Cingular's parent companies, BellSouth Corp. and SBC Communications Inc., are eager to boost their wireless business to offset declining or flat revenue in their fixed-line businesses. But Cingular has been hesitant to bid above $13 a share, believing Vodafone is determined to win, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Acquiring AT&T Wireless would more than double Cingular's wireless revenue and allow it to combine the two companies' marketing functions, retail outlets and other operations.

Buying AT&T Wireless would also boost Cingular's available radiowave spectrum in several major markets, making it easier to offer national calling plans in the U.S. On the other hand, if Cingular allows Vodafone to acquire AT&T Wireless it is likely to face even stiffer competition for subscribers than it does today.

Still, some observers have begun to question the wisdom of paying so much for AT&T Wireless, given the company's already high valuation compared to its wireless rivals, such as Nextel or Sprint PCS. Until The Wall Street Journal reported on Cingular's renewed interest in AT&T Wireless in late December, AT&T Wireless shares had consistently traded between $6 and $9, so $14 a share would mark a sizeable premium.

NTT DoCoMo of Japan has decided against making its own bid to acquire AT&T Wireless, but may still negotiate with other potential buyers to keep a stake in the company, people familiar with the negotiations said. DoCoMo owns roughly 17% of AT&T Wireless, making it the company's largest shareholder. Now that DoCoMo is no longer a potential bidder for AT&T Wireless, it may approach other bidders and negotiate a possible partnership. DoCoMo would be willing to invest more money to maintain its stake in AT&T Wireless, which would be diluted by a merger with a firm such as Cingular, the people familiar with the situation said. The additional investment could run to about $2 billion.

AT&T Wireless, which was spun off from AT&T Corp. in 2001, has struggled of late. The carrier had severe operational difficulties during the fourth quarter and has said it expects customer turnover to remain high during the first half of 2004. The company has had discussions with several potential suitors for more than a month about a possible acquisition.

[bobolito]

Neither Cingular nor Verizon want this. So I think Verizon should make things hard for Vodafone so they can't leave their partnership so easy. But if that's the case then I am not renewing my contract with Cingular [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-mad.gif[/img] I am very disappointed at them. I guess I'll have to switch to Vodafone if they win. I am sure they will have good rate plans like T-Mobile and since they are european minded they won't have the dictatorship AT&T had. So it's all good. I just wanted Cingular to be great. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

[GoodmanR]

It really is too bad that it doesn't look like we'll see any real consolidation. I'm not seeing this reported anywhere else, but WSJ has been on top of this story, and is rarely wrong about this stuff.

[ILUVSOCAL]

Let's wait for the final news to come in [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

[Airb330]

When will we know? I just want better coverage options, I doubt Vodafone can due that for me anytime soon. Though the plans have to better than ATT's. Blah, 50% roaming haha

[GoodmanR]

Originally posted by: Airb330
When will we know? I just want better coverage options, I doubt Vodafone can due that for me anytime soon. Though the plans have to better than ATT's. Blah, 50% roaming haha

ATT has given themselves until the end of the month, but in all reality, if Cingular doesn't raise its bid, we should know tomorrow.

[Airb330]

Originally posted by: GoodmanR

ATT has given themselves until the end of the month, but in all reality, if Cingular doesn't raise its bid, we should know tomorrow.

k thanks goodman. What happened to the a530 disaster? PM me or something

[JJSeminole]

I'm kinda partial to Vodafone getting ATT personally. I don't really care to see a huge merger like ATT and Cingular. I suppose I am partial to Vodafone mainly cause I'd like to see what an outsider could do in the US. Should definitely be interesting.

[bobolito]

We already know what an outsider can do in the US. Look at T-Mobile. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

[Airb330]

Originally posted by: bobolito
We already know what an outsider can do in the US. Look at T-Mobile. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

You mean "T-nocoverage"? They still have a long way to go, as would ATT w/o Cingular.

[Delta]

Looks like someone jumped too soon with a new thread title....whoops.

[GoodmanR]

Originally posted by: Delta3144
Looks like someone jumped too soon with a new thread title....whoops.

That was helpful. Thanks Delta.

I saw an article from a known, reliable source, Wall St. Journal, and posted it for people to read. If you don't want to see the intermediate articles, then don't bother checking the threads, CNN and FoxNews will report the end result.

[Delta]

Originally posted by: GoodmanR

That was helpful. Thanks Delta.

I saw an article from a known, reliable source, Wall St. Journal, and posted it for people to read. If you don't want to see the intermediate articles, then don't bother checking the threads, CNN and FoxNews will report the end result.

No Prob, bud. What are friends for??

[Airb330]

Don't get so defensive GoodmanR. Delta stop being a smarta$$, this was reliable and informative information last night.