Cable & Wireless Share Discussion Threads

[7kiwi] 18/6/2012 07:10

Looks like it is going to the wire, with Orbis due to make an announcement of its intentions before 8am.

[tobysam] 17/6/2012 21:40

anyone heard from GRIM?

[tobysam] 17/6/2012 21:38

Hi all, long time no see ------
I sold all my shares ----squillions and squillions last week at 35.5p with the hope that
a) cable will NOT be taken and that the share price will drop like a stone - at which time all the proceeds from the sale shall be used to purchase as many cable as i can get and as such i would have "average down" if on the other hand they do get taken over i shall have lost 2.5p per share if they do get taken i shall purchase as many vod shares as i can from the proceeds of my sale, so at least i am effectively still in cable. GOOD LUCK ALL

[boadicea] 17/6/2012 21:30

djwr100 - Good lateral thinking there!
It would also strongly imply that Tata are in league with VOD.

[djwr100] 17/6/2012 20:29

If we assume that there was some chance that after vodafone took control they intended to sell off bits to Tata, then I can't see why Tata wouldn't make a second bid in order to allow vodafone to have another go?

What do you think?

[djwr100] 17/6/2012 14:37

It would also bring down their average, and then maybe they could sell to vodafone?

Hmm. Was that their plan B? How many would they need to buy to make a significant improvement in the value of their holding?

[nilla159] 17/6/2012 14:11

If in the morning the price were to drop sharply Orbis could pick up another 10 - 11% firmly closing the door on this sham of an offer.They can't buy more than 30% or they have to bid for the whole company (they could do a lot worse with their money - if it were available).

It doe's appear that VOD have been badly advised from the outset, did no one tell them that the largest shareholder (Orbis 19%) would be reluctant to engage in such a poor offer. Then to push ahead with a Scheme of Arrangement that requires a 75% acceptance from the remaining shareholders.Then to paint themselves into a very small corner defiantly saying in print that they will definitely not up their offer. So after 6 -7 months of painstaking stalking, negotiations and meetings not to mention costs they are about to walk away. Well they can always buy back another £1.04bn worth of their shares and see what good that doe's them or lay their own fibre cable network at a cost of £5bn+ estimated.
I believe they are Bluffing - any bets?
Oh I almost forgot about that £1bn of tax they can reclaim over 5 years meaning they get the company for virtually nothing.

[donny13] 17/6/2012 13:24

Even though it will be costly in the short term I too voted NO and believe this BOD has lost all credibility.

[djwr100] 17/6/2012 12:07

I voted NO.

I also would like a new set of directors.

[boadicea] 16/6/2012 23:18

Absolutely disgusting behaviour by VOD, confirming my belief that (a) they are desperate and (2) this has been a carefully organised stitch-up from the start. One can only imagine the machinations that have been going on in the background. I sincerely hope that Orbis stick to their principles and that sufficient shareholders join Orbis in calling their bluff.

I am not pretending that the C&WW share price will not react badly to a rejection, at least in the interim - in fact probably to some extent at the open on Monday, anticipating a likely rejection which I suppose is part of VOD's strategy to reinforce their threat. If rejection is a near foregone conclusion, I wonder whether they might propose an adjournment before the vote in order to gain time for further arm twisting?

Personally, as others have suggested, I would like to see a complete clear-out of the present Quisling board. A new, severely slimmed down management could be appointed to manage the assets mainly for cash generation and/or for profitable divestment.

[impecunious] 16/6/2012 18:36

Saw the story in the Times about this. Can we take it that sufficient small shareholders have voted against ... hence their threat to Orbis (because as expected it is now up to them)? I also voted NO ...although the two sets of directors probably deserve each other.

[nilla159] 16/6/2012 15:49

So VOD won,t switch to a traditional offer if they do not get the 75% they require for a SOA . Oh and they will not bid at all if they do not get there own way. This was announced after the markets closed friday.They will however bid if somebody else has the audacity to attempt buy the company that they do not then wish to purchase,another veiled threat from the bullyboys to stay clear of their prize.
This is just Blackmail at worst and Bullyboy tactics at the least,well I think we should show them the door along with our Board of Directors and get some people with management skills to rally Cable and wireless into a profitable entity.
I voted NO Bigtime. Stick to your Plan Orbis you hold the power.
Regards Brian

[warranty] 14/6/2012 13:45

Hi buywell2, sold out completely on SBS as couldn't stand the continued disappointments suffered over the years. They say you should never fall in love with a share don't they so I decided it was time to part. Chart looking good as you say so good luck with it if it keeps going.

[warranty] 14/6/2012 13:40

So reading into that then Vodaphone have made a derisory offer, but Investors are supposed to be grateful for it, Darby was a plant to sell off the business and as long as Orbis don't weaken there is little chance of a deal being done. I certainly hope so on the last bit.

[jacks13] 14/6/2012 13:28

What's the source of the piece, loganair?

[rogermauricesmith] 14/6/2012 13:09

I really don't thibk Glass Lewis's opinion matters for much. All that matters is what Orbis do.

[loganair] 14/6/2012 10:25

Vodafone's takeover plan for CWW has been given a boost, but doubts remain.

The scales have tipped a little further in favour of those long suffering Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW) shareholders who want to approve a Vodafone takeover offer when it is put to the vote on Monday.

Glass Lewis, a shareholder advisory firm with some big North American pension fund members, has come out in favour of Vodafone's low-ball £1bn cash offer. Roughly 10% of CWW investors are from across the pond and this is good news for Vodafone, which needs all the support it can get.

The deal requires acceptance from 75% of votes cast but the largest shareholder, an investment fund called Orbis, thinks CWW is being sold on the cheap. It has yet to give its blessing and stands a chance of blocking the takeover.

Vodafone already has the blessing of UK adviser Institutional Shareholder Services, popular with smaller investors, who control about 10% of the stock. The CWW board and four top six holders have declared their support too, accounting for over 18%. The odds are beginning to stack in favour of a deal, but that does not make it a good one for investors.

The 38p a share offer is 2% less than the company's average price over the past 12 months. Glass Lewis's own analysts note that one of Britain's biggest fibre networks is going for a song, well below the average paid for the 26 western European companies sold for over £1bn in the last year.

On the other hand, there have been profit warnings, a collapse in the shares and lots of bad news from Europe in recent months. Better to take the cash than back a halfhearted turnaround plan by a chief executive who was hired, many think, to sell the company. Gavin Darby worked at Vodafone before joining CWW late last year, and his strategy for an independent future looks more like a bargaining tool to squeeze more from the buyers than a recovery story shareholders are expected to buy into.

"We believe a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush, in this case," Glass Lewis has written in a note to members.

Turnaround, Darby's board has pointed out, would require more capital with few returns in the medium to long term, at a time of economic uncertainty. Not so much a bird in the bush as a bird perched on a flying pig.

[buywell2] 13/6/2012 08:27

warranty

Not seen you on the SBS BB for ages

RNS out today , and chart looking decent also

[rogermauricesmith] 12/6/2012 17:49

Any sweetener offered to Orbis would be highly illegal - both to offer and receive. Not worth the risk for anyone.
Equal terms must be offered to all shareholders.
Interesting that people think a better deal may be hammered out that morning.

[loganair] 12/6/2012 13:42

jacks13 - Thinking back to Rank - why did the Pru sell down their stake and even more strangely Goldman Sachs bought out Ranks pension scheme then sold on half to the Pru. Did I forget to mention that Goldmans were acting on behalf of Guoco who have since purchase 74.5% of Rank, just under the 75% they needed in order to keep Rank listed on the FTSE.

I wonder what, outside of the 38p per share offer, Vodafone can offer Orbis....