Lehman Brothers: Unicom to Pay RMB 96 bln for Netcom
Sina Tech, 3/13/08
Lehman Brothers predicts that China Unicom (NYSE: CHU; 0762.HK; 600050.SH) could receive up to RMB 40 bln for selling its CDMA user base, and that the company would pay RMB 96 bln to purchase China Netcom (NYSE: CN; 0906.HK). A merger between Unicom and Netcom could take two possible forms: one would involve Unicom paying cash and bonds or cash and new stocks to purchase Netcom; the other would be an equal merger between the two companies. Even if payment was made using entirely cash or entirely bonds, the real profits from the sale would likely not be realized for another year.
Lehman Brothers predicts that even if news of an industry reorganization were announced within the immediate future, the transaction could not be completed before Q1 2009.
Keywords: wireless M&A timetable 0762.HK 0906.HK 600050.SH CDMA China Netcom China Unicom CHU CN Lehman Brothers telecom