[denphone]

Vodafone in Cable & Wireless buyout.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/feedarticle/10208347

Vodafone unveiled the deal following weeks of speculation and after Indian rival Tata Communications walked away from talks, leaving the FTSE 100 firm as the sole runner.

CWW shareholders will receive 38p a share, which is a premium on Friday's closing price of 32p and significantly more than the 25p rumoured to have been offered by Tata.

CWW provides high-speed telecoms services to the police and companies including Tesco and will be attractive to Vodafone as the mobile phone firm looks to grow its corporate arm at a time of slow consumer growth.

Vodafone said a reduction in headcount and office locations in places where the two firms overlap was likely but specific numbers are yet to be determined.

Vittorio Colao, Vodafone Group chief executive, said: "The acquisition of Cable & Wireless Worldwide creates a leading integrated player in the enterprise segment of the UK communications market and brings attractive cost savings to our UK and international operations."

Vodafone said CWW's UK fibre network - which runs some 20,500 kilometres - fits well with the location of Vodafone Group's UK base stations and will provide fast data traffic at a lower cost to the wider market as demand for mobile data continues to grow.