The prospecy of an American takeover of Vodafone was put on hold on Monday after AT&T was forced to deny it is poised to make an offer.
The US telecoms giant said it had no plans to make an imminent move for Vodafone, sending shares in the British company falling by as much as 7pc.
The Takeover Panel, the UK’s deal watchdog, had requested that AT&T either confirm or deny that a bid was in the works, following reports that a recent meeting between AT&T chief executive Randall Stephenson and Neelie Kroes, Europe’s top telecoms regulator, was aimed at smoothing over a deal.
It has subsequently emerged that Mr Stephenson and Ms Kroes did not discuss Vodafone at the meeting.
“AT&T notes the recent speculation regarding a potential transaction involving Vodafone,” a statement from the company read. EE, the UK’s biggest mobile network, is another possible target for AT&T. Germany’s Deutsche Telekom and France’s Orange, EE’s owners, recently called off a planned flotation, saying that maintaining its current ownership structure is “the best option for value creation”.
Separately, it emerged yesterday that Vodafone is considering a takeover of Ono, the Spanish cable operator, as it uses the portion of its cash from the Verizon Wireless sale not given to shareholders to invest in diversifying its European business.
The company has sought to sell a bundle of internet and television services on top of its core mobile phone business, leading to speculation it could seek a deal with BSkyB in the UK.
Vodafone did not comment on a potential deal for Ono.
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Tube workers from the RMT and TSSA unions will remain on strike until 9.30pm on Thursday evening. On Wednesday, while managers, non-union staff and volunteers operated a limited service on sections of eight of the 11 tube lines, only around a third of trains ran and many stations were closed.
Delays increased on the roads, while buses and overground rail services were packed during rush hour. Some major central stations had to close because of the numbers of would-be travellers outside. Unions called for a safety inquiry after images emerged of what they claimed was dangerous overcrowding inside Waterloo as a skeleton staff tried to cope.
Union leaders said strike action was "rock solid". Bob Crow, leader of the RMT, said: "That is simply a reflection of the staff anger at attempts to bulldoze through cuts to jobs, services and safety which would reduce the tube to a dangerous, hollowed-out shell."
The strike was called over Transport for London (TfL) plans to "modernise" the underground, including the loss of 950 jobs and the closure of all ticket offices, which unions say has safety implications for passengers and staff. Talks between TfL and the unions at the conciliation service Acas broke down early in the week
David Cameron took personal charge of the flooding crisis on Wednesday as the south coast was battered by 90mph storms and forecasters warned worse weather is on its way.
He chaired a meeting of the emergency committee Cobra to discuss a response to the flooding shortly after promising to do “whatever is required” and announcing an extra £100 million to help with the clear-up operation.
The Environment Agency’s embattled chairman Lord Smith, who has been heavily criticised for failing to visit the flood-hit Somerset Levels, did not attend the meeting.
The Prime Minister took action as:
-- More than 150 properties were evacuated on the Somerset Levels and along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall in the teeth of a 90mph storm
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