Cable & Wireless Plc shares were battered yesterday by a piece in the Independent saying that its planned cable merger had been delayed because of growing disagreements between the partners until The article is absolute rubbish, the company told Reuters, insisting We are on target for spring 1997… and we shall announce the chief executive very soon. The Independent said the proposed 5bn pound merger of phone company Mercury Communications Ltd with three cable companies – Nynex CableComms Plc, Bell Cablemedia Plc and Videotron Group Plc, had hit a series of obstacles. The newspaper cited a clash of cultures, complexities of the merger and a lack of leadership at the new Cable & Wireless Communications as reasons why the merger was unlikely to be completed before the summer. Before it delivered the trenchant denial, Cable & Wireless Plc shares were down 2p at 467.5p.
