Vodafone's $130 Billion Bid for Mannesmann Reportedly Proceeding Amid Acrimony

A hostile takeover bid by Vodafone for Mannesmann is moving forward, with British Prime Minister Tony Blair giving his endorsement to the deal, an unusual move for a senior politician. The auction process has been marked by controversy, with Mannesmann taking legal action against its advisor, Goldman Sachs, and Jurgen Ladberg, president of Mannesmann's works committee, expressing his desire to prevent the deal from going through. Meanwhile, the German trade unions are opposing the deal, and Vodafone's chief executive, Chris Gent, is set to meet with Mannesmann to discuss upping the company's bid.

Key Takeaways:

Vodafone's $130 billion hostile bid for Mannesmann is reportedly proceeding, despite controversy and acrimony between the two companies and their advisors.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has given his endorsement to the deal, in an unusual move for a senior politician.
Mannesmann has taken legal action against its advisor, Goldman Sachs, and is in conflict with Jurgen Ladberg, president of its works committee, who wants to prevent the deal from going through.
German trade unions are opposing the deal, and Vodafone'schief executive, Chris Gent, is set to meet with Mannesmann to discuss upping the company's bid.
The deal could result in Orange, a UK cellular network operator, being relisted on the London stock exchange if the Vodafone/Mannesmann merger goes ahead.
Goldman Sachs has agreed to stop advising Vodafone until a court hearing is held on November 18.

Statistics:

$130 billion: the value of Vodafone's hostile bid for Mannesmann.
$30 billion: the value of Mannesmann's acquisition of Orange in a previous deal.
$110 billion: the current bid price of Vodafone's pursuit of Mannesmann.

Sources:

Newsbytes.com at http://www.newsbytes.com
The Times newspaper
Reported by Newsbytes.com, 19991117/Press Contact: Vodafone Press Operations +44-1635-33251 /WIRES TELECOM, BUSINESS/