Ameritech, Bell Atlantic will operate under little restraint in New Zealand
Article Abstract:
Two Bell regional holding companies, Ameritech and Bell Atlantic Corp, have bid $2.46 billion successfully to acquire Telecom Corp, New Zealand's state-owned telephone company. Telecom Corp has some 16,500 employees, 1.1 million customers, annual revenue of $1.3 billion and a network that will be 90 percent digital by the end of 1990. Observers privy to information about the bid say the two companies' bid was equal to, or slightly higher than those of its competitors. The deciding factor according to observers was that the two firms filed an unencumbered bid to acquire 100 percent of Telecom Corp. For Ameritech and Bell Atlantic, the move will give them experience working in a market with minimal government restraints. The government maintains only minor regulations governing rate increases, but otherwise the two firms will be able to act in a free market manner.
Publication Name: The Wall Street Journal Western Edition
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0193-2241
Year: 1990
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New Zealand picks Baby Bells to buy Telecom: Ameritech and Bell Atlantic will pay $2.46 billion for nation's phone firm
Article Abstract:
New Zealand's state-owned telephone company Telecom Corp is being purchased for about $2.46 billion US by Ameritech and Bell Atlantic Corp. The two American regional Bell companies will reduce their stake to 49.9 percent by 1993 by making a series of public offerings in New Zealand, Great Britain and the US. Telecom Corp has 16,500 employees, 1.1 million customers and about 1.4 billion access lines. The company expects its network to be 90 percent digital by the end of 1990. Revenue for the telephone company was $1.3 billion US for the fiscal year ending Mar 31, 1990, and profit was $148 million for that period. Ameritech and Bell Atlantic Corp, which had cash piles of $520.2 million and $164.2 million, respectively, have been seeking to expand beyond their service territories.
Publication Name: The Wall Street Journal Western Edition
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0193-2241
Year: 1990
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Southwestern Bell reaches pact to break into cable TV
Article Abstract:
Southwestern Bell Corp agrees to acquire two Washington, DC-area cable TV systems, making it the first Bell regional telephone company to enter the cable TV market. Southwestern Bell will pay Hauser Communications Inc $650 million for Arlington Cable Partners in Arlington County, VA, and Montgomery Cablevision Limited Partnership in Montgomery County, MD. About 225,000 homes of the 390,000 in the area subscribe to the cable systems. More investments in cable companies by phone companies might be in the offing. The sale pushes up the stock prices of cable TV companies. Southwestern Bell, which is based in St. Louis, purchased the Washington properties because regional Bell companies are barred from buying cable systems in their own operating areas.
Publication Name: The Wall Street Journal Western Edition
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0193-2241
Year: 1993
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