Racal Electronics Plc yesterday galvanised the electronics sector on the London International Stock Exchange with an announcement that it had decided in principal to float off its Racal Telecommunications Group – which includes the Racal Vodafone cellular unit – as a separate public limited company. Racal says that flotation of the company as a separate business will greatly facilitate its plans for development of pan-European digital cellular radio relationships – no wonder it wasn’t prepared to allow Plessey’s 50% of the Orbitel Ltd cellular joint venture disappear into GEC-Plessey Telecommunications – and that it envisages a substantial holding being offered to the investing public, although Racal Electronics will presumably retain a big stake. Goldman Sachs & Co has been retained by Racal to advise on valuation of the Telecommunications Group and is believed to have come to the same conclusion as we did here back in August that there were grounds for valuing Vodafone alone at substantially more than the market capitalisation of the entire Racal Electronics group (CI No 737). Racal’s shares soared on the announcement and were up 66 pence at 312p by mid-afternoon. Background, page 4.
