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[htrocka] 17/7/2005 07:09

I wonder what the ESAG are going to do with this lot....not much by the looks of things.



From Todays `Times`




July 17, 2005

C&W and Energis begin merger talks
Mark Kleinman and Paul Durman



ENERGIS and Cable & Wireless have begun merger negotiations in an attempt to create a new force in the British telecoms market.
The privately owned Energis and publicly quoted C&W have both appointed investment- bank advisers to help them with the talks. If successful, the deal would produce a business with UK revenues of about £2.3 billion, much of it from providing services to large companies.



Energis has hired NM Rothschild to act as financial adviser. C&W is working with JP Morgan, which has helped the company with its restructuring over the past couple of years. The talks remain at an early stage and are unlikely to be completed before next month. However, C&W, as a public company, is likely to come under pressure from the Takeover Panel to issue a statement confirming that talks have commenced.

C&W and Energis are among BT's biggest rivals, but both have suffered financial problems in recent years. Energis succumbed to insolvency three years ago, and had to be rescued by a team led by former Asda chairman Archie Norman.

C&W is understood to be looking to buy Energis for about £700m. The smaller company turned over £720m in the year to March.

Any deal will be hampered by the complex capital structure of the Energis group, a legacy of its past financial problems. The firm is still largely owned and controlled by the banks to which it owes £708m.

Despite the level of bank borrowings, Norman and his senior management team could still benefit financially if they can sell the business for substantially more than £670m.

According to documents filed at Companies House, management and employees own most of the A ordinary shares that will receive 20%-25% of the proceeds above £670m. Norman has 8m of these shares, while John Pluthero, his chief executive, has 10m. If C&W agreed to pay £710m for Energis, it is estimated that Norman could receive about £2m for his A ordinary shares and Pluthero about £2.5m. Both also have interests in another class of shares. However, it seems unlikely they will make the tens of millions of pounds that seemed possible three years ago.

Many analysts believe Energis is a good fit with C&W and its acquisition would enable Francesco Caio, chief executive of C&W, to give a greater sense of direction to his UK business. C&W generates much of its UK revenue from marginally profitable businesses providing services to other telecoms carriers.

Caio has set about building a new broadband business with Bulldog Communications, but this remains small, last year providing only £11m of the UK's £1.6 billion of turnover.

Investors and analysts have long called for consolidation among Britain's alternative carriers. However, deals have been delayed by falling telecoms prices, which have undermined confidence and damaged the finances of the sector's firms.

One of the catalysts behind the deal is the desire to avoid unnecessary expenditure. Like the rest of the telecoms industry, C&W and Energis plan to invest in the next generation of network equipment.

This is set to cost C&W £190m, while Energis is budgeting £80m.

Both companies declined to comment.

[wayneb] 16/7/2005 14:43

If Energis/Chelys can hold off from selling out for another 2/3 years we may get something back ,if telecoms come into favour again in the market place.

[shirishg] 16/7/2005 14:35

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[htrocka] 16/7/2005 12:44

BT to increase dividend paid to shareholders by 60% next year....the cycle contitnues to go round.

[shirishg] 13/7/2005 15:07

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[wayneb] 11/7/2005 16:07

cailin
NO

[dirtydennis] 11/7/2005 12:58

its no wonder you hold energis shares then is it?

[dirtydennis] 11/7/2005 12:57

yeah yeah of course

[gerry2] 11/7/2005 11:05

DirtyDennis - 11 Jul'05 - 05:14 - 22665 of 22667 (Filtered)


DirtyDennis - 11 Jul'05 - 05:20 - 22666 of 22667 (Filtered)


DirtyDennis - 11 Jul'05 - 05:21 - 22667 of 22667 (Filtered

Another Wraith bites the dust .

[dirtydennis] 11/7/2005 05:21

Maybe you can hire people for photo shoots? and do a bit of pretending?

"Any idiot can make up some stupid silly misinformed persona and whinge about abc or xyz." 22661(dh)

[dirtydennis] 11/7/2005 05:20

p.s ever read Cinderella or the ugly duckling?

[dirtydennis] 11/7/2005 05:14

Gerry you look very much like my image of jaknife are you one and the same?

[htrocka] 10/7/2005 14:08

I see Energis gets a small mention today.

[good bye to germs] 09/7/2005 00:12

gerry2


L O L

[htrocka] 08/7/2005 22:26

with ref to gery2`s article....I perceive the next generation of banking differntly,wherebye loyalty, just as in the employment game with it`s redundancy credits, becomes a negotiable commodity.A long term customer , with a good credit history will not only be sort after but induced to stay....maybe with `sweetners`, this can presently be seen through interest rates on current accounts. If banks `bite the hand that feeds them` then they`re on a hiding to nothing and their fundamentals will move away from being based on credit to that of debt....and banks ,like any other business, need liquidity.

[htrocka] 08/7/2005 20:40

Interesting in that it was the in-house brokers of Railtrack....that first brought up the subject of insolvency?....and not the bankers?.

`Railtrack's advisers Credit Suisse First Boston had raised the issue of insolvency.`

from todays Telegraph, with ref to the court hearing.The case continues..

[gerry2] 08/7/2005 20:10

good bye to germs - 8 Jul'05 - 20:04 - 22654 of 22654 (Filtered)

The Wraith Maggot is Still trying to get my attention ?

LOL