Cable & Wireless Plc on Friday finally confirmed that it is divorcing its German partner Veba AG. Veba has agreed to buy back its 45% of the Vebacom GmbH unit, for which the UK company expects to get $1.34bn, and it will in turn buy back Veba’s half of Cable & Wireless Europe SA, leaving Cables ahead on the deal – it talks of a one-off pre-tax benefit of 60m pounds in the current financial year. Europe remains a key strategic market for Cable & Wireless, and the company will concentrate its efforts in continental Europe on developing business which will strengthen and support Cable & Wireless Communications’ position, it said, referring to its plan to merge Mercury Communications Ltd with three UK cable television companies. Veba will remain a shareholder in Cable & Wireless, retaining its current 10.4% stake. Veba said different business strategies were to blame for the deal’s collapse, with Veba planning to invest more heavily in Germany while Cable & Wireless wanted to concentrate on the UK market.
