Thursday May 21, 08:16 PM
UPDATE 1-Qwest long-haul bids seen below ask price-sources
By Sinead Carew and Jessica Hall
NEW YORK/PHILADELPHIA, May 21 (Reuters) - Qwest Communications International Inc has asked for bids for its long-distance network to be submitted early next month and is looking for more than $2 billion, but some bankers don't see it fetching this much, people familiar with the matter said.
Operators such as Level 3 Communications Inc and tw telecom inc, are expected to bid for the assets, potentially in partnership with private equity investors, according to the sources.
Companies such as Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T Inc have examined the prospects for a deal but would be interested only if they could get the network for a cheap price, said a person who expects Qwest (NYSE: Q - news) to get several bids in the first week in June. Wireless provider Sprint Nextel Corp (NYSE: S - news) is also mulling a bid for the network, according to that person.
But even if Qwest, which has a total market capitalization of about $6.8 billion, did end up attracting multiple bidders, it would likely be offered less than it has hoped, sources said.
'They are going to have to take a lower-than-expected price or end up keeping the network themselves. They aren't going to get the asking price they floated,' said an investment banker who specializes in telecommunications.
'They could end up getting low-ball bids and then they have a hard decision to make -- do they keep it or just sell it to get it off their books and get rid of the maintenance and upgrade costs,' the person said.
Representatives from AT&T and tw telecom, formerly known as Time Warner Telecom (NASDAQ: TWTC - news) , declined comment. An official from Level 3 was not immediately available for comment.
In response to a question about a potential Qwest deal, Verizon (NYSE: VZ - news) 's Chief Financial Officer implied on Wednesday at the Reuters Technology Summit that his company was not interested in the deal. He said Verizon was happy with its network.
'For the likes of AT&T or Verizon, they don't need it, but at some price it gets attractive,' one of the sources said, noting that these companies already have large long-distance networks. Savings could be much bigger for smaller rivals.
'It's more strategic for somebody like Level 3 or Time Warner Telecom, so they're willing to pay more versus a Verizon or AT&T,' said one of the sources. The source expects Qwest to get bids less than what Qwest is seeking, but it could potentially get offers above that price too. Others were less optimistic.
'It's a dead auction. They will get some interest, but not the interest or the price tag they had hoped for,' said another banker who asked not to be named.
In late afternoon New York Stock Exchange trading, Qwest shares were off 19 cents or 4.5 percent to $4.03.
(Reporting by Sinead Carew in New York and Jessica Hall in
Philadelphia)
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