Betsy Riley
Vodafone's(VOD Quote - Cramer on VOD - Stock Picks) Airtouch unit received two formal bids for its Italian Internet unit Infostrada, including one bid worth about $10 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Still, the company is considering going ahead with plans to take the unit public if the bids aren't improved, the story cited people familiar with the talks as saying. The company needs cash, in part, to pay for its acquisition of Mannesmann. The leading bid, a combination of cash and high-rated bonds, came from Wind, which is a venture of Italian state-controlled electric utility Enel(EN Quote - Cramer on EN - Stock Picks) and France Telecom(FTE Quote - Cramer on FTE - Stock Picks). The second offer, including a large proportion of lower-rated securities, was from Albacom, an Italian telecommunications company whose shareholders include British Telecommunications(BTY Quote - Cramer on BTY - Stock Picks), state-controlled oil group Eni(E Quote - Cramer on E - Stock Picks) and Italian television broadcaster Mediaset. The Journal also reported that Vodafone is talking to two nonItalian telecom companies that could possibly make a bid for Infostrada. Vodafone was planning a public offering for 49.9% of Infostrada, which the Journal story says is still in the works unless the unit is sold.
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