Vodafone Reportedly Won't Raise Cegetel Offer

The company's chairman also scoffs at reports he's interested in all of Vivendi.

Author:: Kevin Burke
Publish date:: Nov 8, 2002 5:22 PM EST

Wireless telecommunications company

Vodafone

(VOD) - Get Report

reportedly won't up its bid for

Vivendi's

(V) - Get Report

stake in Cegetel.

London-based Vodafone renewed its 6.77 billion euro offer for Vivendi's 44% stake in the French telco on Wednesday, dismissing Vivendi's claims that it is worth 9 billion euros more than that. Cash-starved Vivendi is still struggling to regain its financial footing following a debt-fueled spending spree spearheaded by ousted chief executive Jean-Marie Messier.

"Our price is fair. It's the market price, and this is borne out by the sharp rise in Vivendi's share price the day it came out," Vodafone chief executive Chris Gent told the newspaper

Le Figaro

, according to a

Reuters

story. He also threatened to block any move by Vivendi to merge Cegetel with Belgian telephone company Belgacom.

The newspaper said Gent scoffed at recent speculation that he would launch a takeover bid for Vivendi as a whole, in an attempt to gain control of Cegetel and its stake in SFR mobile network. "Never! We have never even thought about," Gent said, "it makes no sense to us."

Vivendi's shares rose 4.2% to $13.96, while Vodafone slipped 0.4% to $15.98.