British Aerospace Plc’s 30% stake in Hutchison Telecommunications UK Ltd has been on the market for a couple of years now, but the Wall Street Journal reports that Hutchison Whampoa Ltd is actively seeking a buyer not only for that stake but for at least a part of its own 65%, and would likely cede control of the loss-making business to the partner it brought in – and given that AT&T Co is keen to get into the US cellular business by buying into and eventually taking control of McCaw Cellular Communications Inc, an AT&T deal with Hutchison would not be out of the question; the remaining 5% of Hutchison’s UK unit is held by Barclays Bank Plc.
