Canada
BCE Inc. said it is in discussions with the independent committee of the Teleglobe board of directors, the majority shareholders of Teleglobe and their tax advisers to finalize the structure of BCE’s proposed acquisition of the company. BCE also said it is involved with Teleglobe in its discussions regarding the renegotiation of its bank credit facility and may provide additional support to Teleglobe before the close of the transaction later this year.
United Kingdom
Shareholders in Cable & Wireless plc approved the sale of its 54-percent stake in Cable & Wireless HKT to Pacific Century CyberWorks Ltd., according to international press reports. Cable & Wireless first announced the deal, in which PCCW offered cash and stock for the Hong Kong wireless operator, in February. Cable & Wireless HKT shareholders will vote on the acquisition in July.
Australia
GTE Telecommunications Services Inc. signed a contract with Australia’s Hutchison Telecommunications Ltd. to provide international roaming for wireless subscribers in time for the 2000 Summer Olympics to be held in Sydney, Australia. GTE TSI will supply Hutchison with a multiservice offering that includes clearinghouse services for roaming revenue settlement and exchange, IS-41 signaling interoperability and a near-real-time, online customer service application used to track and troubleshoot roamers. Hutchison is also investing $500 million in its own Code Division Multiple Access digital network with unique local zone capability providing advanced location-based services to people in and around the major cities of Sydney and Melbourne, Australia.
Brazil
Portugal Telecom boosted its stake in its Brazilian cellular unit, Telesp Celular Participacoes S.A., to 29.9 percent from 19 percent for about $739 million. The transaction was announced in March and completed in an auction last week. The offer comprised all Telesp Celular’s ordinary shares not held by Portugal Telecom. Portugal Telecom acquired 44.1 billion ordinary shares or 65 percent of the shares tendered.
