BT trying to disengage from Concert

British Telecommunications said it will take a charge of $720 million in its half- year results as a result of the declining value of certain investments and that further hits to earnings from the possible dissolution of its Concert joint venture could come in future quarters.

BT confirmed it is in talks to dissolve or alter its Concert joint venture with AT&T and that the cash and non-cash restructuring costs from such a move would be substantial. BT is losing about $400 million per quarter on Concert. BT CEO Peter Bonfield said he hopes to have a decision on the joint venture’s fate by the end of the year.

BT said the spin-off of its wireless unit, mmO2, was on track. According to mmO2’s prospectus, the company plans to spend about $12.3 billion during the next five years on networks upgrades and service rollouts. If shareholders approve the demerger, mmO2 will start trading as a public company on Nov. 19.

BT also attached a deadline on its efforts to shave billons from its debt load. By March 2002, the carrier hopes to cut its debt by between $21.8 billion and $24.6 billion.

The $720 million write-down includes lost value on a 9% stake in AT&T Canada and a 20% stake in Impsat of Aregentina.

--Vincent Ryan, senior editor