Gent is creating a company so large–its market capitalization is $550 billion–that it’s likely to make the world a smaller place. Vodafone-AirTouch-Mannesmann is widely expected to hasten the arrival of mobile phones that can roam the globe and tap the Internet. It will be able to spread the cost of developing the next generation of mobile services over its 42 million customers in Europe, the United States and other markets. And even before world wireless standards finally converge, the new Vodafone is big enough to demand that manufacturers like Nokia speed production of phones that work with both European and U.S. systems. “No one has had that kind of clout, but Vodafone-AirTouch-Mannesmann does,” says Iain Gillott, telecoms analyst at the International Data Corporation. “They can call Nokia and say, ‘We want 25 million phones, 100 million phones.’ The volume is incredible.”
Rivals such as AT&T and Deutsche Telekom can’t ignore that kind of market power. They’re likely to look for deals of their own to keep up with Gent. In Germany, he simply wore down opposition from many quarters, including the tabloid that called him a “shark,” a judge who denounced unfriendly takeovers and from Esser himself. Analysts predict that Gent will strike again soon, perhaps targeting Spain’s Telefonica, with its extensive holdings in Latin America, or on the Pacific rim in Australia or Japan.
Next front: the Net. Vodafone’s deal with Vivendi creates a new Internet portal that, Gent boasted, “will soon be stronger than American Yahoo! all over the world.” Perhaps. But days later, analyst Matthew Nordan of the Forrester Research consultants predicted that Gent will soon invade France, Vivendi will invade Britain and their alliance will be dead by June. No, the hostilities are not over.
