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$1.8B phone deal completed
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February 2, 1999: 6:12 a.m. ET
Olivetti and Mannesmann win control of U.S.-based Omnitel investor
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Olivetti, the second largest phone company in Italy, and its German partner Mannesmann say they have completed the $1.8 billion acquisition of Cellular Communications International.
Olivetti and Mannesmann now hold just over 12 million shares in CCI, or 55.4 percent. CCI itself has just one asset, a 10.3 percent stake in Omnitel Pronto Italia, Europe's second largest mobile-phone network. The Italian and German companies already control Omnitel and wanted CCI in order to gain more profit from the business. Fast-growing Omnitel has 6 million mobile phone users.
The two companies launched their offer for CCI in December with a bid pitched at $65.75 a share, or a total of $1.4 billion. Shareholders were unimpressed by this initial effort however, and Olivetti and Mannesmann responded with a revised offer in mid-January of $80 a share.
The purchase of CCI takes Olivetti and Mannesmann's total stake in Omnitel to 50.3 percent from 40 percent.
U.S. phone company Bell-Atlantic (BEL) also has an option on one-third of CCI's stake in Omnitel.
Shares in Mannesmann gained 0.3 euros to 129.8 while Olivetti was off in Milan, down fractionally to 3.34. 
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Olivetti
Mannesmann
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