BT and Clearwire in play for Crowley?
2007-03-15
British Telecom (BT) and Clearwire are being mentioned as potential bidders for Crowley Data Poland (CDP), a telecoms operator which offers services to small and medium-sized enterprises.
CDP was expected to be acquired by a listed telecommunications company, ATM, which carried out a share issue worth PLN 190m (€48.7m) in order to raise money for this acquisition, but eventually abandoned the purchase, as the price was too high. Sources familiar with the negotiations on CDP, quoted by Rzeczpospolita, say that ATM might be back in talks.
BT is also reported to have held negotiations with George Crowley, CDP’s owner, but it is focusing on large corporations and other telecommunications operators in Poland and is therefore unlikely to decide to invest in CDP. On the other hand, Clearwire has encountered some obstacles in launching its services in Poland and could obtain access to the market and clients by acquiring an established operator.