Concert to list shares on TSE in autumn

Concert PLC, a global telecom firm to be established this fall by a merger of British Telecommunications PLC and MCI Communications Corp., will list its shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange immediately after the company is formed.

In a joint news conference held July 1 in Tokyo, Peter Bonfield, CEO of BT, and Gerald Taylor, CEO of MCI, said Concert's stock will debut in Tokyo and be subsequently listed in London and New York. The pair also said Concert will seek an alliance with NTT. The amount of Concert shares to be listed in Tokyo will be decided later after assessing market conditions, Bonfield said.

In November, BT and MCI, acting as partners in the world telecommunications market, announced that the two companies will be merged this fall to prepare for global competition. To ensure access for Concert products in Japan and address wider opportunities across Asia and globally, the two leaders said Concert seeks an alliance with Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp.

Bonfield said Concert has great respect for NTT and has had close relations with the carrier for many years and hopes to do more. But NTT executives have said more than once that the carrier has no intention of forming a global alliance with specific partners.