Investors cautious on BT's US plans

Telecoms group BT unsettled investors today after a “milestone” $1bn (€771m) deal rekindled memories of its last disastrous foray in the US.

The acquisition of California-based Infonet, which provides companies with internal communication systems, was hailed by BT as a landmark move that would boost its global presence.

But many analysts expressed concern about the plan, which comes just three years after BT took a massive hit from unwinding its loss-making joint venture with US group AT&T.

Infonet, which boasts a list of blue-chip customers including Hewlett-Packard, has operations in 70 countries and around 3,000 cities worldwide. It specialises in linking up companies through phone networks and intranet systems.

BT’s global services division already offers similar services, but the planned purchase will bolster its presence in North America and Asia Pacific. It will add around 1,800 corporate customers to BT’s existing 10,000 clients in the sector.

The acquisition is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. Infonet is currently owned by a number of telecoms companies, including KDDI of Japan, Dutch group KPN and Spanish giant Telefonica.

Infonet employs 1,100 people in 17 countries while BT has about 8,000 staff in 42 countries.

Shares in BT fell more than 1% today, leaving them 3p lower at 189.25p.