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Bell Atlantic to Sell Interest in New Zealand TV Company
August 26, 1997
| Media contacts: | Jim Crosson 212-395-0500 |
New York, N.Y.-- Bell Atlantic (NYSE: BEL) announced today that it has reached agreement to sell its interest in Sky Network Television Limited, a New Zealand subscription television company, to Independent Newspapers Limited (INL) of New Zealand.
Bell Atlantic owns an interest in Sky through a 24.5-percent stake in HKP Partnership of New Zealand. All investors in HKP have agreed to sell their stakes to INL.
The financial impact of the sale will be a gain to be recorded in the third quarter of 1997. Closing is subject to receipt of various third-party consents and is expected to take place during the third quarter.
Bell Atlantic has a major presence in Asian communications through investments and partnerships including Telecom Corporation of New Zealand, BayanTel of the Philippines, Excelcomindo in Indonesia, TelecomAsia in Thailand, and FLAG, the world's longest undersea fiber optic cable. The FLAG cable will connect Japan, Korea, China, Malaysia, Thailand and India to the Middle East and Europe.
The new Bell Atlantic -- formed through the merger of Bell Atlantic and NYNEX -- is at the forefront of the new communications, information and entertainment industry. With 40 million telephone access lines and 5.5 million wireless customers worldwide, Bell Atlantic companies are premier providers of advanced wireline voice and data services, market leaders in wireless services and the world's largest publishers of directory information. Bell Atlantic companies are also among the world's largest investors in high-growth global communications markets, with operations and investments in 21 countries.