Vodafone, AirTouch Merger Takes Another Step Forward

Eleven banks approached by Vodafone Group PLC (Berkshire, UK) have agreed to underwrite and arrange the facility required for a merger with AirTouch Communications Inc. (San Francisco, CA). The facility documentation should be signed in early April.

The facility required for the Vodafone's purchase of Airtouch has been established at $13 billion and may be set closer to $10 billion. The sub-underwriting stage is expected to take place in early summer. AirTouch shareholders have approved the merger and the facility size is finally established. The term of the major part of the facility is for 364 days with the balance multi-year.

The eleven banks underwriting the facility are: Bank of America, Barclays, Banque Nationale de Paris, Citibank, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, ING Barings, National Australia Bank, NatWest, and West LB. The bookrunners are Bank of America, Barclays, Citibank, and Goldman Sachs. The facility agent is NatWest.

In a related story, AirTouch recently indicated that it still wishes to forge a US pact with Bell Atlantic Corp. Bell Atlantic filed a suit against AirTouch in January after its bid to acquire AirTouch was derailed by Vodafone.

AirTouch has expressed that it wants to work with Bell Atlantic to gain broader coverage in the US AirTouch serves the western US, while Bell Atlantic serves the East Coast.