Bt Share Discussion Threads

[nw99] 26/5/2018 11:50

Buy as you say Openreach worth more than mkt cap alone

[gemlotte55] 26/5/2018 11:43

Bidders fail to prise Openreach from BT
Harry Wilson, City Editor
May 26 2018, 12:01am,
The Times
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BT is the largest provider of fixed-line, mobile and broadband services in the UK
BT is the largest provider of fixed-line, mobile and broadband services in the UK
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BT is understood to have rebuffed recent offers for its Openreach business, after receiving interest from private equity and infrastructure investors interested in buying the phone and broadband cable network.

Openreach could be expected to fetch as much as £25 billion, according to the estimates of one broker, but BT has shown no interest in accepting offers, despite its shares trading at more than five-year lows.

Although the group reiterated its commitment to keeping hold of Openreach at a recent strategy day, this does not appear to have deterred would-be buyers, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.

The division is owned by but legally separate from BT and its infrastructure is used by rival providers including Sky, Talktalk and Vodafone to provide their services, as well as those of BT.

BT is the largest provider of fixed-line, mobile and broadband services in the UK and offers subscription television and IT services. Originally part of government, it was created as British Telecom in 1980, became independent of the Post Office in 1981 and was privatised in 1984.


The company said this month that it would cut about 13,000 jobs in its back office and middle management as part of a three-year £1.5 billion cost reduction plan. Openreach was created after a government review of the telecoms sector in 2005 that led to BT agreeing to create a separate division for its infrastructure operations.

BT guaranteed equal access to its network to competitors to encourage competition. About 18 million British households are served by the network.

There have been repeated calls for Openreach to be spun out of BT as a fully independent company. Last year, BT agreed to make Openreach a separate company.

A spokesman for BT declined to comment.

Shares in BT rose 6¾p, or 3.3 per cent, to 210p yesterday.

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[eisler] 26/5/2018 11:19

Monty - it is *potentially* worth that - the very upper end of a half-baked valuation. Just more wild speculation.

[montyhedge] 26/5/2018 10:41

So Openreach worth 25 billion pounds, according to brokers, the whole market cap of BT around 20 billion. So I think that makes BT at 209p seem cheap. Lol

[hamhamham1] 26/5/2018 06:37

Toon. When you asked what else will drive the share price up, one of the three reasons I mentioned was 'good news' and that doesn't have to just come from BT. I think the gov will publish very good news through the ...
"Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review, which is due to report this summer. The review is expected to suggest new approaches to help boost investment in “full fibre” and future 5G Mobile networks."



See BTs published response (see the 5 models suggested in the pdf)...

[holly1000] 25/5/2018 21:30

Just seen this interesting article BloombergBUSINESSBT Takes a Leaf Out of Hedge Fund Billionaire's SongbookAn Openreach stake sale would help get ahead of any Telecom Italia-style activist interest.By Alex WebbMay 25, 2018, 8:30 AM GMT+1?Dialing up. Photographer: Jean-Claude Deutsch/Paris Match ArchiveAfter years of prevarication, BT Group Plc seems finally willing to consciously uncouple from its fixed-network business. CEO Gavin Patterson may be learning from the experience of BT's Italian peer.The former British national telecoms operator is evaluating informal proposals to sell at least a minority stake in Openreach, which operates most of the country's phone and broadband networks, according to a Bloomberg News scoop late on Thursday. That's exactly what I advocated earlier this month.I've already gone into the financial reasons why such a deal would make sense: It would help fund investment in new fiber networks by bringing in an influx of cash. That would in turn allow BT to concentrate more investment on 5G, while getting British regulators off its back - politicians are unhappy about the crawling pace of Britain's fiber network rollout. And, besides, the arrangement seems anachronistic.Slamming the Phone DownBT's new strategy was not welcomed warmlySource: BloombergThere's a good chance Patterson has one eye looking over his shoulder given the recent experience of Telecom Italia SpA. BT's Italian equivalent was targeted by Paul Singer's activist hedge fund Elliott Management Corp. It argued that the network business was being undervalued as part of the parent company and launched a successful two-month campaign to replace most of the board of directors.There's a real risk that BT could become the focus of a similar attempt. Its shares are trading at their lowest level in more than five years, and while Openreach is its cash cow, that also makes it attractive as a spinoff. The unit could be valued at as much as 25 billion pounds ($33 billion), according to RBC Capital Markets. BT's market value is 20.5 billion pounds.There are other parallels. Just two weeks ago, Patterson laid out a three-year turnaround program for BT. Telecom Italia's boss Amos Genish too had just presented a restructuring plan when it came into Elliott's sights. Patterson won't want an activist to disrupt that project, nor threaten his job. By getting ahead of the game, he will hope to nullify the menace.There's no guarantee that BT will decide in the end to sell a stake in Openreach - nor that politicians will be happy about a private equity co-owner. But it should if it can. Regulators have already forced a legal separation of the network business, meaning Patterson doesn't have day-to-day control over its running anyway. After the poor investor response to his three-year plan, he needs to do something radical.This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.To contact the author of this story:Alex Webb at [e-mail] contact the editor responsible for this story:James Boxell at [e-mail] it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal. LEARN MORECommentsTerms of Service?Trademarks Privacy Policy ©2018 Bloomberg L.P. All Rights ReservedCareers Made in NYC Advertise Ad Choices Contact Us HelpYou have 8 free articles remaining. View Offers??

[pete123456] 25/5/2018 21:09

Biggest comeback since pat phelan !

[creddy] 25/5/2018 20:58

Was looking for sub £2 but may have to bite the bullet and pay £2.10 plus on Tues. Would appear to have hit a not so curvy flat bottom.

[meijiman] 25/5/2018 18:11

Break up value -look at the sum of the parts. Takeover speculation. Yield support/oversold. Management changes! Berenberg does serious quality research.

[toon1966] 25/5/2018 18:03

Good luck to you and I hope you're right. Any thoughts on what will drive the share price higher?

[kulvinder] 25/5/2018 17:59

I think I will get my 245 prior x-divi day. Just my opinion not a recommendation.

[toon1966] 25/5/2018 16:47

Just like to remind a few people here that the fundamentals of the business have not changed regardless of potential sale of assets. GP himself said it's going to take a couple of years to return to growth. Berenberg, who have BT as a buy and have stated there is clarity around the business case, have reduced their EBITDA/FCF forecasts. If BT fail to hit these 'reduced' EBITDA/FCF forecasts then I suspect the share price will come under renewed pressure. Next few quarterly trading updates will be very interesting.

[knowing] 25/5/2018 16:28

Let's see what the papers have to say over the weekend. A part sale of Openreach could bring significant value

[montyhedge] 25/5/2018 16:23

Like we said director bought half a million pounds worth at 255p. He must think good value at that price.

[hamhamham1] 25/5/2018 16:11

Old article, but true about buying too early, I think 6 months on is a far better time. See also the m2m value at 340p - I would like 350p ;)

(remove some o's to get the url right)

[montyhedge] 25/5/2018 15:50

Last few days, volume been high, perhaps someone accumulating a stake. Let's hope it's who we said earlier today.

[hamhamham1] 25/5/2018 15:48

Big investors starting to see that there is gold in them there hills!

[kmann] 25/5/2018 15:43

SP moving up after a spate of manipulation. 310p BUY

[hamhamham1] 25/5/2018 15:21

It's things like this which could put a spanner in the DT (T-Mob) & Sprint merger. Plus the current Trump / EU (mainly Germany) frostiness. Also it would weaken AT&T and Verizon, shiny US companies backyard market share, or could always be said to be a theat to security (used quite a lot recently)

[montyhedge] 25/5/2018 14:58

Volume telling you something going on, seems high. Still predicting 215p Tuesday.

[citytrader66] 25/5/2018 14:55

good old yanks taking this back down? out in chunks all above 209p. see if that morning gap up gets closed?

[hamhamham1] 25/5/2018 14:54

I like what global services does, connecting up all the businesses.
There's not too many companies out there who can match the BT network for connectivity in UK / Europe / World.
Once a company signs up, they generally stay with you and yes they may use one or two other carriers for resilience but it's stable income.
E.g. this contract I think I posted before they just won because of their size and setup.

[dmf] 25/5/2018 14:37

Why is the Global Services division not disposed of......its a mess...there must be a buyer for it.....at any price !!!!!