OTHER NEWS - April 27, 1992

PacTel Hires J. P. Morgan to Study Breakup: Pacific Telesis Group has hired a top investment banking firm to evaluate a proposed divorce of its local telephone companies from other, faster-growing subsidiaries. PacTel’s chairman and chief executive, Sam Ginn, said J. P. Morgan & Co. of New York will study the proposal for several months before advising the PacTel board. A breakup would leave PacTel with its cellular and paging subsidiaries, along with its national and international cable operations. Pacific Bell provides local phone service to more than 22 million Californians, Nevada Bell serves about 230,000 phone lines in the Reno-Carson City area and Pacific Bell Directory publishes phone books in California and Nevada. The three subsidiaries accounted for more than 90%of PacTel’s $1 billion in revenue in 1991, but are heavily regulated. An amicable divorce would free the company’s other units from the restrictions placed on the telephone service providers. The breakup, proposed April 15, would leave Pacific Telesis with 534,000 PacTel Cellular subscribers; PacTel Paging, with more than 474,000 units in service; and Pacific Telesis International, which manages, operates and invests in Germany, Great Britain, Thailand, Korea and Japan.