Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 13, 1990 TAG: 9007130169
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
Boards of both companies have agreed in principle to the merger, which is subject to approval by the directors and stockholders of both companies as well as various regulatory agencies.
The new company would operate as GTE Corp.
Under the proposal, GTE will issue 1.27 shares of its common stock in a tax-free exchange for each Contel common share, or about 200 million GTE shares.
James L. Johnson, chairman and chief executive officer of GTE, characterized the merger as "a perfect combination."
The merger will result in an organization that ranks as the country's largest local-exchange telephone company and the second-largest cellular-telephone operator.
The combined company's local-exchange operations would have a total of 17.7 million access lines, and its cellular-telephone business would serve approximately 50 million outlets.
GTE subsidiaries operate in 46 states and 41 countries, with combined revenues and sales of $17.4 billion and net income of $1.4 billion in 1989.
GTE operates three core businesses - telecommunications, lighting and precision materials - providing products and services worldwide. It has 158,000 employees.
Contel is a major local telephone and cellular service provider. Its telephone operations serve 2.6 million access lines in 30 states, and it operates cellular systems through a 90 percent-owned subsidiary, Contel Cellular Inc., in 36 metropolitan areas. Contel's 1989 revenues were $3.1 billion, with net income of $277 million. It employs 22,000.
by CNB