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Cable & Wireless Worldwide

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For the former Cable & Wireless business that Cable & Wireless Worldwide succeeded in 2010, see Cable & Wireless plc.
See also: Cable & Wireless Communications

Cable & Wireless Worldwide PLC
IndustryTelecommunications
Founded26 March 2010; 14 years ago (2010-03-26)
Defunct1 April 2013; 11 years ago (2013-04-01)
SuccessorVodafone
HeadquartersBracknell, England, UK
Revenue£2,257 million (2011)[1]
£170 million (2011)[1]
£209 million (2011)[1]
Websitevodafone.com/business/global-enterprise

Cable & Wireless Worldwide PLC (informally Cable & Wireless) was a British multinational telecommunications services company headquartered in Bracknell, United Kingdom. It was formed in 2010 by the split of Cable & Wireless plc into two companies, the other being Cable & Wireless Communications serving Central America and the Caribbean (and now a part of Liberty Latin America).

Cable & Wireless Worldwide specialised in servicing large corporates, governments, carriers and resellers and its services included managed voice, data and IP-based services. It had operations in Asia Pacific, Europe, India, the Middle East & Africa and North America.[2] The company was bought by Vodafone in July 2012 and integrated into the business on 1 April 2013.[3]

History

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The company was formed on 26 March 2010, made up of the remaining business of Cable & Wireless plc following the demerger of the company's international division to form Cable & Wireless Communications. The split meant that the FTSE 100 Index temporarily held 101 firms, before Cable & Wireless Communications dropped to the FTSE 250 Index.[4]

Following the split, CWW went through a tumultuous period – its shares, which hit a high of 98.5 pence after the split, valuing the group at $4.25 billion; fell to 13 pence in November 2011, increasing speculation it would be a takeover target.[5]

On 28 June 2011, the board of Cable & Wireless Worldwide accepted the resignation of Jim Marsh and announced that John Pluthero, the then-Chairman, would become Chief Executive.[6] On 14 November 2011, Cable & Wireless Worldwide announced that it had appointed the former Vodafone Group executive Gavin Darby as its new chief executive.[7]

On 23 April 2012, Vodafone announced an agreement to acquire Cable & Wireless Worldwide for £1.04 billion.[8][9][10]

Vodafone, who was looking to strengthen its integrated corporate services business arm – Vodafone Global Enterprise, bid for CWW with Tata Communications Ltd. also in the fray. Vodafone became the sole bidder after Tata group withdrew; and on 23 April 2012, Vodafone announced an agreement to acquire the operations of CWW for £1.04 billion in cash.[8][9][10] On 18 June 2012, CWW shareholders voted in favour of the Vodafone offer, exceeding the 75% of shares necessary for the deal to go ahead.[5] Vodafone was advised by UBS AG, while Barclays and Rothschild advised Cable & Wireless.[11]

The acquisition gave Vodafone access to CWW's fibre network for businesses,[10] enabling it to take unified communications solutions[11][12] to large enterprises in UK and globally; and expand its enterprise integration service offerings in emerging markets.[12][13]

The purchase was completed on 30 July 2012, and one-time CWW employee and CEO of Vodafone Global Enterprise Nick Jefferey was appointed as CEO of CWW. Cable & Wireless was fully integrated into Vodafone on 1 April 2013.[14]

Executive remuneration

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Shareholder groups repeatedly warned about excessive executive remuneration at the company. Before it split into two separately listed companies in early 2010, Cable & Wireless suffered one of the biggest shareholder rebellions in 2009 when 38% of the shareholder register failed to back the company's pay policy at a fiery meeting. The company's highly controversial long-term incentive plan (LTIP) was calculated on 10% of the company valuation and was claimed to pay out to senior managers; in fact the members of the LTIP were the only executive directors who for the year 2009/2010 shared a £60 million bonus pool.[15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Preliminary Results 2011
  2. ^ "C&W - About us". Archived from the original on 27 December 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  3. ^ "Welcome to Vodafone | Vodafone UK Enterprise". Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  4. ^ Cable & Wireless demerger takes the FTSE 100 to 101 BBC News, 26 March 2010
  5. ^ a b Vodafone Gets Approval for C&W Bid as Orbis Drops Opposition
  6. ^ "C&W Worldwide warns on earnings, CEO goes". Reuters. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  7. ^ Cable & Wireless Worldwide hires Vodafone's Darby as CEO
  8. ^ a b "Vodafone Buys C&W Worldwide For GBP1.04B". The Wall Street Journal. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  9. ^ a b "Vodafone agrees to buy C&W Worldwide for $1.7 billion". Reuters. 23 April 2012. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  10. ^ a b c "Vodafone agrees £1bn takeover of C&W Worldwide". BBC News. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  11. ^ a b "Vodafone Agrees to Buy Cable & Wireless for $1.7 Billion". Bloomberg. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  12. ^ a b "Vodafone buys Cable & Wireless for enterprise boost". ZDNet. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  13. ^ "Vodafone sees data growth as Euro economy bites - ZDNET". ZDNet. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  14. ^ "Vodafone acquires Cable & Wireless Worldwide". Marketing Week. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  15. ^ "Cable & Wireless shares tumble on austerity warning". www.telegraph.co.uk. 20 July 2010. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
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