Vodafone takeover hits hurdle
Vodafone’s £1bn bid for ailing telecoms group Cable & Wireless Worldwide was cast into doubt after the target’s biggest shareholder refused to back the deal.
The FTSE 100 company will become the UK’s second biggest telecoms operator, behind BT, if its 38p a share offer is approved by 75 per cent of CWW’s shareholders.
But international fund manager Orbis, the largest single CWW shareholder with a 19 per cent stake, said the offer undervalued the firm, despite it being a 92 per cent premium to the closing price on the day before the talks were unveiled.
CWW employs over 250 staff at a data centre in Leeds.