Vodafone outbids Bell Atlantic for Airtouch

NEWS Vodafone has acquired AirTouch Communications after a week of negotiations which saw the UK operator outbid Bell Atlantic. Industry and financial analysts have greeted the $62bn deal warmly. The combination of the two independent operators - to form Vodafone AirTouch Plc - will create the world's largest mobile phone company, serving 23 million customers in 23 countries. The tie-up was announced late last Friday, just hours after regional phone operator Bell Atlantic dropped out of the race. The Baby Bell is believed to have increased its earlier $43bn offer, but still failed to match a revised Vodafone bid worth $97 per share. Vodafone will exchange five of its high-flying ordinary shares plus $9 in cash for each AirTouch share. in a prepared statement Vodafone CEO, Chris Gent, said: "We share a vision of mobile communications as the principal platform for voice and data communications into the next century. The combined group will have the people and assets to realise this vision." John Matthews, principle consultant at Ovum, did not expect there to be any objections from regulators: "In general, where one network is weak, the other is strong, and with the exception of Germany, there is little overlap between the companies to bother regulators." The deal also paves the way for easier roaming between Europe and the US, with Vodafone in the position to use a single standard in both continents over the medium-term, according to analysts. Dirk Bout, senior analyst at Gartner Group's Dataquest division, said: "The problem at the moment is that there are two different technologies in use - CDMA in the US and GSM in Europe. The opportunities for immediate new services are limited, but eventually users travelling between the continents should expect a seamless service." Paul Sharma, telecoms analyst at Henderson Crosthwaite, added: "Both companies have understood the value of operating outside their home markets and with third-generation services on the horizon there's the potential of using the same tech