Gent said his company received a message Thursday from the German group's chairman, Klaus Esser, making it clear he had no interest in negotiating with Vodafone. Until then, Vodafone had held out the hope that it could persuade Mannesmann's management to accept a second, sweetened offer. Vodafone had planned to make this offer when Mannesmann's supervisory board met later Friday. Mannesmann had no immediate comment to Vodafone's latest move, but a spokesman at its headquarters in Duesseldorf, Germany, said he expected an official response later in the day. Gent said that if the offer succeeds, Vodafone would split off Orange and let it be run as a separate company.
British law bars any company from operating more than one cellular phone business.
To succeed, the bid requires regulatory approval and the support of a majority of shareholders in both companies. Vodafone plans to call a special shareholders' meeting in mid-January to approve the higher bid and will mail documents for a tender offer later that month. Gent stressed the merits of melding Mannesmann's strong wireless business in Germany and Italy with Vodafone's mobile operations in Britain and, via a joint venture with Bell Atlantic Corp. in the United States. Mannesmann, however, has argued that its strategy of integrating mobile and fixed-line phone services promises faster growth than what it calls Vodafone's ''obsolete'' reliance on cellular business alone. If successful, Vodafone's revised bid also would be the first hostile takeover in German history.