Vodafone Group Buys Cable & Wireless for $1.7B

Vodafone has agreed to purchase Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW) for $1.7 billion. In a press release, Vodafone said the acquisition will strengthen its enterprise business of Vodafone Group, while also providing network and other cost saving opportunities for the company. John Barton, chairman of CWW, said that CWW had originally outlined a strategy to refocus its business on achieving sustainable cash generation and returns from capital invested but that the offer from Vodafone would benefit shareholders in the long-term, as opposed to enduring the risks associated with a medium-term improvement strategy. UBS is acting as sole financial adviser to Vodafone and Vodafone Group. Barclays and Rothschild are acting as joint financial advisers to CWW. CWW provides integrated communications and data hosting services to large enterprises and mid-market customers in both the public and private sectors. The company also owns one of the U.K.’s largest fiber networks dedicated to business users of telecoms and provides access through a combination of fiber, digital microwave radio and leased circuits. CWW’s revenue for 2011 was $3.6 billion with an operating profit of $246 million. Vodafone Group is one of the world’s largest mobile communications companies by revenue with over 398 million customers in its controlled and jointly controlled markets. Vodafone Group currently has a 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless in the United States.