Merger of Brasil Telecom, Telemig, Amazônia seen as inevitable

Analysts are confident that Brasil Telecom will eventually merge with the wireless carriers also controlled by Opportunity, Telemig Celular and Amazônia Celular. They?re already operating as a consortium but seasoned observers and professionals see a full-blown merger of equity ownership as inevitable and welcome, so much so that all the stocks of all three companies have rallied recently, performing above the market average. Analysts cite the following factors as justifications for this positive assessment:
* Opportunity now has an absolute majority over the pension funds on the boards of all three telcos, reducing the probability of further disputes;
* To integrate the three telcos Opportunity would be paid for the sale of the cellular carriers and pay for Brasil Telecom. That looks like a zero-sum game, so why not raise the total value of the new company, analysts ask;

* The upside potential deriving from this swap boosts the value of Telemig Celular for other potential buyers, such as the Portugal Telecom/Telefonica joint venture.