AT&T scotches talk of bid for Vodafone

27th Jan 2014 07:09

US telecoms giant AT&T has quashed talk about a takeover of Vodafone by ruling out a bid for the British mobile phone company.There had been speculation that AT&T would stage a bid for Vodafone to expand its presence in the European market.AT&T's Chairman and Chief Executive Randall Stephenson had met regulators at last week's World Economic Forum in Davos to talk about a "potential takeover of a major European telecom firm", according to a report in Britain's Daily Telegraph.Stephenson met EU Commissioner Neelie Kroes "to discuss a number of issues including the commission's receptiveness to the American giant entering the European market", the report claimed.But in a statement released to the London Stock Exchange on Monday, AT&T said:"AT&T notes the recent speculation regarding a potential transaction involving Vodafone Group."At the request of the UK Takeover Panel, AT&T confirms that it does not intend to make an offer for Vodafone."Vodafone has itself been touted as a potential buyer of rivals after selling its 45% stake in US mobile business Verizon Wireless to its US joint venture (JV) partner Verizon Communications, a deal expected to complete in late February.It announced the cash and share deal in September after a decade-long bid by Verizon to take full control of the JV.Vodafone, led by Chief Executive Vittorio Colao, is set to return about $84bn of the net proceeds to its shareholders and invest the rest in its network, speeding up the launch of superfast 4G broadband services in Europe.PW