BT set to ditch Concert?

NEWS BT is said to be on the verge of ditching its stake in Concert, the 50:50 joint venture with AT&T. It emerged over the weekend that Sir Christopher Bland, BT's new chairman, is prepared to take drastic action to refocus the company and appease angry shareholders. BT's stake in Concert is worth around £1.2bn and it has in the past made money, although the business telecoms outfit did turn in a £320m loss for its most recent quarter. According to the Mail on Sunday, BT is now set to admit that the its stake is "completely worthless" - hence the decision to scrap it. Any such move would result in a huge one-off charge for the company and mass redundancies. According to a City source quoted by the paper, Bland is willing to back a massive write-down of the investment if BT can get out of the venture with a "reasonable rationalised business". However, a BT spokeswoman told this morning's Metro newspaper - one of the Mail's sister titles - that this was just one of a range of options being considered for Concert. She even claimed that BT was thinking of strengthening the alliance with AT&T.