Vodafone has submitted a bid to acquire Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW) for £1.04 billion (US$1.7 million).
Established in the 1860s, Cable&Wireless Worldwide owns and operates the UK’s largest fibre network dedicated to business users. It provides nationwide access through a combination of fibre, digital, microwave, radio and leased circuits. The network has presence in over 400 towns and cities in the UK, with more than 864 unbundled exchanges covering 56% of the population. CWW still retains an international cable network spanning approximately 425,000km in length. The company is headquartered in Bracknell, United Kingdom.
Vodafone, based in London, is the world's second-largest measured by subscribers (behind China Mobile), with over 439 million subscribers served by its associated carriers as of December 2011. The acquisition would give an extensive UK fibre network and a large number of business customers. enabling it to deliver unified communications segment for enterprises in UK and internationally. Vodafone also see cost savings potential by using the CWW domestic fibre network for mobile backhaul and the CWW international network as a traffic backbone.
Commenting on the offer, Vittorio Colao, CEO of Vodafone Group, said: "We are pleased to reach agreement with the Board of Cable & Wireless Worldwide, who unanimously recommend our offer. The acquisition of Cable & Wireless Worldwide creates a leading integrated player in the enterprise segment of the UK communications market and brings
attractive cost savings to our UK and international operations. We look forward to working with the management and employees of Cable & Wireless Worldwide to combine our expertise for the benefit of our customers and shareholders."http://www.vodafone.com
- In 2010, Cable & Wireless Communications plc (LSE: CWC) was de-merged from Cable & Wireless Worldwide. CWC has operations in the Caribbean, Macau, Monaco, Panama and numerous small islands.
