LONDON (Brand Republic) 鈥 Italian mobile phone company Blu has withdrawn from the Italian auction for third-generation mobile telephone licences, following an ongoing dispute between shareholders centring on BT鈥檚 refusal to increase its 21% stake to 51%.
BT said it was prepared to 鈥渞aise its stake and take more of a risk in Blu, but could not take the amount the other shareholders demanded as the price for continuing in the bidding鈥.
The auction is now closed with only five remaining parties. The bids totalled $11.5bn, only one third of the sum raised by the UK UMTS auction.