Mannesmann Denies Seeking Bid

German telecommunications and engineering group Mannesmann on Sunday denied a newspaper report that it was open to a friendly bid to fend off the hostile takeover by Britain’s Vodafone AirTouch.

The Sunday Business of London newspaper said Mannesmann was open to an approach by a “white-knight partner” to save it from the record hostile bid by Vodafone if a new offer presented a significantly better value.

“This is pure speculation; we are not looking for a white knight,” a Mannesmann spokesman said.

The newspaper said that among potential bidders for the Dusseldorf-based group were British Telecommunications; U.S. telecommunications groups MCI WorldCom Inc. and BellSouth Corp.; and French conglomerate Vivendi. It did not cite any sources.

BT declined to comment on the report. MCI WorldCom and BellSouth could not be reached immediately for comment.

Mannesmann Chief Executive Klaus Esser has repeatedly said that the group wanted to remain independent without recourse to a white-knight rescue.

Esser reiterated in a newspaper interview on Friday the rejection of Vodafone’s all-share bid, valued at about $133 billion, repeating that the group had better growth potential if it stayed independent.

He also announced Mannesmann would intensify from the start of next month its defense against the hostile bid.

The British cell phone giant’s offer runs for 46 days from last Friday to Feb. 7.

Separately, a leading German conservative politician, Bavaria state’s Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber, said the Mannesmann bid battle showed that the country needed stricter takeover rules to better safeguard employee rights.

Stoiber told the newspaper Bild am Sonntag that he would like to see shorter deadlines for an official takeover offer, a requirement for a cash element and employee protection clauses.

Under the current German rules, a bidder can give shareholders between 28 and 60 days to decide whether to reject or accept its offer.

On Thursday, Mannesmann’s American depositary receipts were unchanged at $242.13 in over-the-counter trading, and Vodafone ADRs rose 50 cents to close at $49 on the New York Stock Exchange. Financial markets were closed Friday.