Vodafone-Airtouch faces shareholder vote

NEWS Vodafone shareholders will today vote on the mobile network operator's merger with AirTouch Communications. According to Vodafone and analysts, support for the deal is expected at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to be held in London at 11:00am. A spokesman for the company said: "There will be 20 resolutions to be voted on - some of which are quite complex - but it's part of a complex legal situation that has to be gone through." Once this hurdle has been passed, the companies will seek approval for their corporate marriage from the European Commission, AirTouch shareholders - who meet this Friday - and the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). John Matthews, principal consultant at Ovum, said the deal will most likely pass the regulatory checks. The companies' networks have very little overlap - something that is rare in such a deal - but a sell-off of a German business is likely to go ahead, Matthews said. In Germany, AirTouch is a member of the consortium running Mannesmann Mobilfunk - the country's largest mobile group with 40 per cent market share - whereas Vodafone backs the unprofitable E-Plus network. Vodafone is now almost certain to sell its stake in E-Plus. Vodafone won a bidding war for San Francisco-based AirTouch at the start of the year. Bell Atlantic, the regional Bell operating company in the north-east of the US, had targeted the company and the acquisitive MCI WorldCom was also rumoured to be taking a look. Bell Atlantic is already in the midst of a merger with US telco GTE, while MCI WorldCom this week admitted it had decided not to buy US mobile operator Nextel. Another mobile specialist may well be on the shopping list. At the time the Vodafone-AirTouch deal was struck it was worth $62bn. When the companies combine they will form the world's largest mobile operator and one of the largest businesses publicly quoted in London and New York.