TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

GTE to Acquire Rest of Contel: The telephone company said it has reached an agreement to acquire the 10% of Contel Cellular Inc. that it does not already own for $255 million in cash. The offer o $25.50 a share represents an increase of about $31 million from the $224 million, or $22.50 a share, GTE Corp. bid in September for the remaining stake in Atlanta-based Contel Cellular. GTE is offering to acquire the Class A common shares of Contel Cellular. Under the terms of the agreement, a newly formed subsidiary of GTE would merge into Contel Cellular. The two companies also said they reached a tentative agreement to settle suits filed by shareholders who claimed the original offer was too low.