excerpt:
Vodafone faces AT&T bid deadline
Mobile phone giant Vodafone must decide soon whether it is to make a bid for US rival AT&T Wireless.
Offers for the struggling third-ranked US group must be made by a deadline of 2200 GMT on Friday.
But, investors appear to be unhappy - shares in Vodafone have fallen 7% in recent days on concerns over the move.
Meanwhile, Japanese newspapers reported that NTT DoCoMo is expected not to bid - leaving the field clear for Vodafone and US group Cingular.
Cingular, owned by SBC Communications and BellSouth, has already submitted a $30bn (£18m) informal offer for the wireless operator.
Reports suggest that Vodafone has called a board meeting to seek clearance for a bid that may trump Cingular's offer. However, for competition reasons Vodafone would have to ditch its 45% stake in US market leader Verizon Wireless if it did buy AT&T Wireless.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3484931.stm