Gent and Esser spar on BBC for shareholders' attention

NEWS As the battle for shareholder votes continues, the chief executives of Mannesmann and Vodafone AirTouch have dug in, clarifying their respective anti- and pro-merger positions. Speaking on the BBC's Money Programme on Sunday, Mannesmann boss Klaus Esser claimed a lack of synergy with Vodafone's "pure-play mobile strategy". Mannesmann has both mobile and fixed telecoms interests. However, Vodafone CEO Chris Gent - who successfully negotiated a merger at the start of the year with San Francisco-based AirTouch - once again promised a combined group would "create a European world-beater that's bigger than the sum of its parts". He disagreed with detractors who claim a deal will lead to job losses. Union bosses and even German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder have expressed their concerns. Gent also denied his relationship with Esser has turned acrimonious. He said: "We have a high regard for Esser, but think our view of the future is superior to his." There is widespread speculation that the two companies, fresh from courting Mannesmann stockholders around the world, are ready to negotiate. At the end of last week a group of Mannesmann investors, led by Hamburg lawyer Andreas Dimke, brought a legal action accusing the company's board of acting against the interests of its shareholders.