Vodafone has renewed its €6.77 billion cash offer for media giant Vivendi Universal's 44 per cent stake in France's Cegetel.
Vodafone said the new offer, pitched at the same price as a previous bid that has already been rejected as inadequate by Vivendi, said the new bid for control of telecoms group Cegetel would lapse on December 10th.
"Vodafone believes its cash offer represents a full and fair price for Vivendi's Cegetel interests," the group said in a statement.
Vodafone is also giving debt-laden Vivendi, which currently controls France's second-largest telecoms group, until December 10th to counter part or all of Vodafone's agreed €6.3 billion bid for a 41 per cent stake in cash-rich Cegetel held by two other shareholders BT Group Plc and SBC Communications.
Under a shareholder pact, Vivendi has the right to pre-empt Vodafone's attempt to raise its 15 per cent stake in Cegetel.
