In brief: C&WC shares continue to slide

Shares in Cable and Wireless Communications (C&WC) continued to slide in early trading today as the market further absorbed Bell Atlantic's decision to convert its 18.5 per cent stake in the company into exchangeable bonds.

On Monday, C&WC shares fell 72.5p to 598.5p. They slipped a further 5p late on Tuesday morning.

Bell Atlantic said it plans to raise "in excess of $3bn" through the transaction. Investors who buy the bonds can trade them at a later date for cash or shares in C&WC, but the nature of the transaction means Bell Atlantic can defer tax payments.

Cable and Wireless will still own a controlling 52.7 per cent stake in C&WC, but the cable operator's ownership structure has already been transformed this year with Bell Canada selling its 14.2 per cent holding in the company.

Last week, Bell Atlantic announced a $53bn merger with GTE, a provider of local, long-distance and Internet services in the US.