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BT, AT&T eye Japan
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April 22, 1999: 5:52 a.m. ET
Report: U.K. giant and AT&T close in on Japan Telecom in $1.3B deal
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LONDON (CNNfn) - British Telecom and AT&T are closing in on a 30 percent stake in Japan Telecom, according to reports published Thursday.
Shares in the U.K. telecom giant jumped more than 3 percent on further speculation that a deal could be closed by the end of the week, though all three companies declined to comment.
Japanese business daily Nihon Keizei Shimbun said Japan Telecom had not made a final decision on the proposed link but expected the company's board to approve the three-way tie by the end of the week. The two companies would pay around $1.3 billion for their combined stake, said the report.
British Telecom (BT.A) shares climbed 3.09 percent to 1,004 pence in early trading Thursday.
Analysts said a deal with Japan Telecom, first mooted in March, would boost the global alliance between AT&T (T) and British Telecom which regulators approved last month.
The deal would give the two giants crucial access to the Japanese market at a time when it is being deregulated. Japan Telecom operates leased-line and fiber optic services targeted at the business market.
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