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Vodafone talking to Bell?
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August 26, 1999: 3:49 a.m. ET
Report: phone giants in talks to restart $100 billion U.S. alliance
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Telecom giants Vodafone AirTouch and Bell Atlantic are in talks aimed at merging their U.S. cellular operations, according to a press report Thursday.
Britain's Times reported that Vodafone AirTouch boss Chris Gent flew to the United States Wednesday for talks with Bell Atlantic (BEL) aimed at restarting the two companies' previous close partnerships.
Relations between the companies cooled when Vodafone gate-crashed Bell's proposed merger with AirTouch late last year. The U.K. group eventually walked away with AirTouch in a $56 billion deal.
The Times quoted sources close to Vodafone as confirming that regaining a presence on the East Coast of the United States - the deal that was broken off with Bell Atlantic -- is an urgent priority. The source told the newspaper, "We regard Bell Atlantic as a suitable partner for us."
Putting together Bell Atlantic's East Coast cellular operations with AirTouch's predominantly West Coast business would create a giant worth more than $100 billion, The Times reported.
A Vodafone spokeswoman refused to comment on the report Thursday, although she confirmed to CNNfn.com, "We've said many times that achieving a national footprint in the U.S. is one of our aims, but it's not an urgent priority."
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