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| Vodafone considers offer for Cable & Wireless Worldwide | Vodafone considers offer for Cable & Wireless Worldwide |
| (about 21 hours later) | |
| Vodafone has confirmed it is considering a cash offer for Cable & Wireless Worldwide, expected to be worth around £700m. | Vodafone has confirmed it is considering a cash offer for Cable & Wireless Worldwide, expected to be worth around £700m. |
| The offer for Britain's second largest fixed line telecoms group, which has suffered a series of profit warnings and two changes of chief executive in the last year, comes as Vodafone seeks to bolster its network to cope with the explosion of internet traffic on mobile phones. | The offer for Britain's second largest fixed line telecoms group, which has suffered a series of profit warnings and two changes of chief executive in the last year, comes as Vodafone seeks to bolster its network to cope with the explosion of internet traffic on mobile phones. |
| Shares in CWW surged 45% to 29p during the day's trading, valuing the company at nearly £800m. As recently as April 2010, CWW was worth £2.5bn. | |
| "Vodafone regularly reviews opportunities in the sector and confirms it is in the very early stages of evaluating the merits of a potential offer for CWW," the firm said in a statement. "Any offer, if made, will be in cash, but Vodafone reserves the right to change the specie of consideration." | "Vodafone regularly reviews opportunities in the sector and confirms it is in the very early stages of evaluating the merits of a potential offer for CWW," the firm said in a statement. "Any offer, if made, will be in cash, but Vodafone reserves the right to change the specie of consideration." |
| CWW said it noted Vodafone's announcement and was "in the very early stages of evaluating the merits of a potential offer". | CWW said it noted Vodafone's announcement and was "in the very early stages of evaluating the merits of a potential offer". |
| Vodafone's shares nudged up 0.9% to 174p. With the growing popularity of smartphones and tablets, the volume of internet traffic over mobile phones has surged, forcing Vodafone and other mobile operators to rent miles of backhaul – the cables that connect mast networks to the internet – from BT Group and CWW. | Vodafone's shares nudged up 0.9% to 174p. With the growing popularity of smartphones and tablets, the volume of internet traffic over mobile phones has surged, forcing Vodafone and other mobile operators to rent miles of backhaul – the cables that connect mast networks to the internet – from BT Group and CWW. |
| "Vodafone already pays the likes of CWW for backhaul, so they can offset that saving against the purchase price," said Mark James, a telecoms analyst at the broker Liberum Capital. | "Vodafone already pays the likes of CWW for backhaul, so they can offset that saving against the purchase price," said Mark James, a telecoms analyst at the broker Liberum Capital. |
| Cable and Wireless owns 425,000km of cables around the world. Around a third of its £2.2bn in revenues come from carrying internet and voice traffic for other telecoms groups, including mobile networks. | Cable and Wireless owns 425,000km of cables around the world. Around a third of its £2.2bn in revenues come from carrying internet and voice traffic for other telecoms groups, including mobile networks. |
| Vodafone's move marks a shift in strategy by the chief executive, Vittorio Colao, who has spent his three and a half years at the head of one of the world's largest mobile operators slimming it down by selling minority stakes in overseas operators. | Vodafone's move marks a shift in strategy by the chief executive, Vittorio Colao, who has spent his three and a half years at the head of one of the world's largest mobile operators slimming it down by selling minority stakes in overseas operators. |
| Under Colao's predecessor, Arun Sarin, Vodafone invested billions in an Indian network, and under former chief executive Sir Christopher Gent became known as one of the most aggressive British acquirers of overseas assets. Its acquisition of Germany's Mannesmann in 2000 set a record as the largest corporate deal in history. | Under Colao's predecessor, Arun Sarin, Vodafone invested billions in an Indian network, and under former chief executive Sir Christopher Gent became known as one of the most aggressive British acquirers of overseas assets. Its acquisition of Germany's Mannesmann in 2000 set a record as the largest corporate deal in history. |
| "These guys are incredibly gun-shy about mergers and acquisitions, and if this gets into a bidding war they are likely to back away," said Robin Bienenstock, an analyst at the broker Sanford Bernstein. | "These guys are incredibly gun-shy about mergers and acquisitions, and if this gets into a bidding war they are likely to back away," said Robin Bienenstock, an analyst at the broker Sanford Bernstein. |
| CWW could be acquired for between £700m and £900m, Bienenstock said, implying at the higher valuation a price per share of around 33p. | CWW could be acquired for between £700m and £900m, Bienenstock said, implying at the higher valuation a price per share of around 33p. |
| Vodafone has until 5pm on 12 March to make a firm offer or withdraw. Other groups that could take an interest in CWW's assets include the private equity firm Apax Partners, which is investing in telecoms and recently bought the Orange network in Switzerland. | Vodafone has until 5pm on 12 March to make a firm offer or withdraw. Other groups that could take an interest in CWW's assets include the private equity firm Apax Partners, which is investing in telecoms and recently bought the Orange network in Switzerland. |
| Virgin Media could be attracted to CWW's corporate client base, having vowed to expand its business services division at a faster rate than the rest of the company over the coming years. Both Apax and Virgin declined to comment. | Virgin Media could be attracted to CWW's corporate client base, having vowed to expand its business services division at a faster rate than the rest of the company over the coming years. Both Apax and Virgin declined to comment. |
| Were CWW to be broken up for auction, it could be worth more than the price being considered by Vodafone. | Were CWW to be broken up for auction, it could be worth more than the price being considered by Vodafone. |
| Investec Bank recently put the break-up value of CWW at £2.5bn, or over 90p a share, saying its UK network and customer base could be worth £1bn, its data centres £350m, its network of global subsea cables £650m and a further £500m for accumulated losses that can be used to reduce tax bills. | Investec Bank recently put the break-up value of CWW at £2.5bn, or over 90p a share, saying its UK network and customer base could be worth £1bn, its data centres £350m, its network of global subsea cables £650m and a further £500m for accumulated losses that can be used to reduce tax bills. |
| CWW serves businesses rather than consumers. Its clients include 70 FTSE 100 companies as well as the BBC and government departments. | CWW serves businesses rather than consumers. Its clients include 70 FTSE 100 companies as well as the BBC and government departments. |
| CWW's recently installed chief executive, Gavin Darby, has been asked by shareholders to disclose details of the performance of its various divisions when he presents interim results and a strategy update on Thursday, in the hope that this could attract new offers for parts of the company. | CWW's recently installed chief executive, Gavin Darby, has been asked by shareholders to disclose details of the performance of its various divisions when he presents interim results and a strategy update on Thursday, in the hope that this could attract new offers for parts of the company. |
| Darby, who was a senior executive at Vodafone until last year, overseeing its international assets until a reorganisation saw him leave the group, took over from John Pluthero at the helm of CWW last November. | Darby, who was a senior executive at Vodafone until last year, overseeing its international assets until a reorganisation saw him leave the group, took over from John Pluthero at the helm of CWW last November. |
| Pluthero was the architect of a demerger that in March 2010 separated CWW from Cable & Wireless Communications, the international arm that runs consumer telecoms companies in the Caribbean. | Pluthero was the architect of a demerger that in March 2010 separated CWW from Cable & Wireless Communications, the international arm that runs consumer telecoms companies in the Caribbean. |
| Since splitting from the more profitable Caribbean business, underperformance at the UK group has been exposed. The company last year cancelled its dividend and waved goodbye to two chief executives – Pluthero and his predecessor, Jim Marsh – in a six-month period. | Since splitting from the more profitable Caribbean business, underperformance at the UK group has been exposed. The company last year cancelled its dividend and waved goodbye to two chief executives – Pluthero and his predecessor, Jim Marsh – in a six-month period. |
| * This article was amended on 14 February 2012 to remove an inaccurate closing share price for CWW. |