Vodafone 'has only one rival for AT&T'

Mobile phone giant Vodafone is facing just one rival in the multi-billion pound race for US operator AT&T Wireless, it was reported today.

It is understood that Japanese firm NTT DoCoMo – which owns about 17% of AT&T Wireless – decided against submitting a bid ahead of the deadline on Friday.

Media reports said Vodafone made an offer worth £18bn (€26.6bn) for the US firm, with US rival Cingular also thought to have tabled a £16.3bn (€24.1m) bid.

A Vodafone spokesman today declined to comment on the reports or say whether the company had followed up interest expressed last week by submitting a formal bid.

The board of AT&T is understood to have met on Saturday to review the bids and could announce a decision as early as Tuesday. The company has set itself a deadline of February 29 for naming the successful bidder.

A successful bid for AT&T Wireless would be Vodafone’s biggest acquisition since it bought German rival Mannesmann for around £100bn (€147.6bn) in 1999.

In order to mount a successful bid, it is thought that Vodafone would need to sell its 45% stake in US firm Verizon to satisfy regulators.

A deal would benefit Vodafone’s travelling customers as AT&T Wireless favours the same technology used by the Newbury-based group.

But investors are worried that the company would be overpaying for the US group and that a deal would destroy shareholder value for up to six years, according to media reports.