[Hong Kong, 14 August 2000]: Hutchison Whampoa Ltd announces that it has joined Andala for the purpose of bidding for one of the 5 UMTS licences in Italy. Hutchison has bought 51% of the company, and after its entry the shareholdings in Andala SpA are as follows:
| Hutchison | 51% |
| Tiscali | 25.5% |
| CIR | 15% |
| San Paolo-IMI | 5% |
| Franco Bernabe | 2% |
| HdP | 1% |
| Gemina | 0.5% |
"We are very happy to team with a leading company like Tiscali and other members in the Andala consortium. Italy holds great potential for us and with such strong established partners in this consortium, we are confident that we can successfully obtain a licence", said Mr Canning Fok, Group Managing Director of Hutchison Whampoa.
Franco Bernabe, President of Andala said "The agreement with Hutchison rewards the efforts that the shareholders have made to build the company and put value to the work of management and all those who have contributed, and will continue to contribute, to the Andala project with great enthusiasm. The company is going into the auction with a group of committed and strong shareholders, and after the award of the licence will be part of a European wide strategy from which will derive stimulation and a push ahead to the Italian Telecommunications industry."
Renato Soru, President of Tiscali commented," I am very satisfied with the agreement reached; this alliance is that which best enables us to win one of the 5 licences and to maximise the Tiscali contribution.
Tiscali will have great benefits by becoming part of this very large European project; the parties have agreed to work on strategic co-operations which will permit us to develop UMTS services in our European markets. There has also been enormous faith shown in our company through financial support provided by Hutchison to our project".
Rodolfo De Benedetti, Managing Director of CIR said,"We believe that this Agreement signed with Hutchison is of fundamental strategic importance for CIR. This will not only allow us to take part in the auction in the best possible position, but also to be players in an important European network, and enhancing the value of the content that we will be able to bring to the consortium."
About Hutchison Whampoa:
Hutchison Whampoa is a Hong Kong-based multinational conglomerate with a market capitalisation of US$53 billion. In 1999, consolidated turnover was over US$7.1 billion, and earnings after tax and exceptional items were approximately US$15.1 billion. With over 80,000 employees worldwide, Hutchison operates five core businesses in 24 countries: ports and related services; telecommunications and e-commerce; property and hotels; retail and manufacturing; and energy and infrastructure.
Worldwide, the Group is one of the leading owners and operators of Internet and telecommunications infrastructure, offering a wide range of related services. These include fixed-line services, internet services, fiber optics broadband networks, mobile telephony (voice and data), paging, trunked mobile radio, VSAT and radio broadcasting services.
Hutchison's telecommunications and e-commerce related operations have been growing rapidly. The Company has teamed up with Global Crossing to further expand its global connectivity and to pursue fibre optic broadband network opportunities in the Greater China Region. Cooperation with NTT DoCoMo, which owns 19% of Hutchison's mobile communications businesses in Hong Kong offers its customers advanced mobile Internet opportunities. Recently the Group formed a strategic co-operation agreement with NTT DoCoMo and KPN Mobile to establish and develop 3G businesses in UK, Germany, France and Belgium. Hutchison had earlier won the bid for the largest 3G licence in the UK and subsequently formed Hutchison 3G UK -- a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) joint venture company with NTT DoCoMo, KPN Mobile and Telesystem International Wireless, to build and operate a national UMTS network. Meanwhile, the Group is also exploring 3G opportunities in other European countries.
About Tiscali
Tiscali S.p.A. (Tiscali) is a leading European internet and telecommunications service provider, offering integrated internet access, portal and e-commerce services along with innovative voice and data transmission services. Following its listing on the Nuovo Mercato in November 1999, Tiscali has evolved from being a national telecommunications operator primarily focused on Internet access and voice services fro the Italian market, into an integrated pan-European company with a presence in six European countries, more than 2.3 million internet customers (as at 30 June 2000) and nearly 1,000 employees. It intends to continue to play an active role in the consolidation process in the European internet market.
About CIR
CIR is an industrial holding company controlled by the De Benedetti Group. Listed in the Milan Stock Exchange, it operates in the following industries: media and communications, internet, energy, automotive components, food machinery and food specialities. It also has holdings in many listed companies.
Media enquiries:
Ms. Laura Cheung
Tel: (852) 2128 1289
Fax: (852) 2128 1766
Email: laurac@hwl.com.hk
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