By silicon.com, 12 May 2004 15:10
NEWS 12.05.99: Vivendi has made an offer for One2One, the UK mobile phone operator jointly owned by Cable & Wireless and MediaOne.
The French utilities and communications group wants to expand operations internationally. A host of companies have shown interest in the mobile operator, valued by analysts at £11bn, but Vivendi is the first to confirm its bid.
Vivendi chairman Jean-Marie Messier said the move would only happen if it created value for the company. Details of the offer have not been disclosed.
12.05.04: Don't talk to Jean-Marie Messier about '5 years ago...' - things have certainly changed a lot since the heady days of 1999.
In a nutshell, the One2One deal never happened and Messier was shown the door at Vivendi after a troubled time in charge.
In the summer of 2002 Messier was forced to resign amid serious accounting scandals at the French firm.
By the time he was clearing out his desk One2One was doing very well for itself under a new name - T-Mobile - and new parents.
But the transition hadn't been without its low points. Mass store closures and job losses were among the unwanted milestones on the company's road to redemption, following its £8.4bn purchase by Deutsche Telekom in 1999.
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