Vodafone to buy CWW for $1.9b to trim costs

London: Mobile phone group Vodafone has agreed to buy Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW) for £1.04 billion (Dh6.1 billion, $1.9 billion), giving it a British fixed-line network to relieve the strain on its wireless operations from data-hungry smartphone users.

The world's biggest mobile phone operator by revenue said yesterday buying corporate telecoms specialist CWW would make it a leading player in both fixed-line and mobile tele-com services to Britain's businesses, and it could make cost savings by using CWW's networks, both in the UK and internationally. Vodafone is offering CWW shareholders, who have had a torrid time since the group split from the former Cable & Wireless in March 2010, 38 pence a share in cash, a 92 per cent premium to the price before it declared its interest in February.

CWW has issued three profit warnings, had the same number of chief executives and has suspended its dividend since it split.

Vodafone can use CWW's 20,500 kilometres of fibre cables to move data from its wireless network, which is under strain as more and more people use data-hungry smartphones.

The deal also boosts Vodafone's enterprise business with the addition of contracts to provide voice, data and hosting services to British government departments and companies, and it gains CWW's international cable network.