NEW YORK (05/05/2000) - Spanish telecommunications operator Telefónica SA and its Dutch counterpart Koninklijke KPN NV have broken off merger talks, a spokeswoman for Telefónica's public relations company in New York confirmed today.
Telefónica is preparing a statement to explain reasons for the breakdown in negotiations, the spokeswoman said. Telefónica officials were not immediately available to comment.
The big stumbling block in the talks happened yesterday, when Spanish Economy Minister Rodrigo Rato called on the Dutch government to immediately sell it stake in KPN, according to a report in the Dow Jones news service.
KPN, in the Hague, the Netherlands, can be reached at +31-70-343-3379, or at http://www.kpn.com/. Telefónica, in Madrid, can be reached via the Web at http://www.telefonica.com/.