From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Portugal Telecom
Type	Private Company Euronext: PTC NYSE: PT
Founded	1994
Headquarters	Lisbon, Portugal
Industry	Telecommunications
Products	Telecommunications
Revenue	€ 6,385 billion (2005)
Net income	€ 654 million (2005)
Employees	32 390 (2005)
Subsidiaries	Lusomundo Cinemas Páginas Amarelas, S.A. PT Comunicações SAPO Saber & Lazer, SA TMN, S.A. TV Cabo Portugal Vivo
Website	Portugal Telecom Homepage

Portugal Telecom (Euronext: PTC, NYSE: PT) is the biggest telecommunications operator in Portugal. It operates mainly in Portugal and Brazil. It also has a very important presence in Morocco, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Timor-Leste, Angola, Kenya, the People's Republic of China, and São Tomé and Príncipe.

Portugal Telecom was the only telephone operator in Portugal, being a monopoly, until 1994, when the government gradually retired its control over the corporation and in 2000 Portugal Telecom became a publicly owned company. Since then, it has held a dominant position in the liberalized Portuguese market.

Due to its large market share, Portugal Telecom is still considered a de-facto monopoly in fixed telephony in Portugal.

In early 2006, Sonae made a takeover offer over Portugal Telecom that failed. In April the European Commission gave an ultimatum to the Portuguese Government ordering it to give up on the 500 golden shares pack that it still owns on the company and that enable special veto powers to the government on vital issues.

Portugal Telecom is the largest corporation in Portugal and has a large presence in Brazil. It owns PT Comunicações, the largest fixed phone and ADSL operator in Portugal, Telecomunicações Móveis Nacionais, SA (TMN), the largest mobile phone operator in Portugal and SAPO Saber & Lazer, SA, an Internet subsidiary, Páginas Amarelas, S.A., the publisher of the Portuguese Yellow Pages edition, Lusomundo Cinemas, a film distributor and a large chain of cinemas around Portugal, TV Cabo Portugal, the major cable/satellite company in Portugal involved in broadband cable networks and television programming content, Vivo, the largest mobile phone network in Brasil. Vivo is a joint-venture with Telefónica.

Portugal Telecom is a publicly owned company. Major stockholders include:

• Telefónica: 9,64%
• Banco Espírito Santo: 8,60%
• Brandes Investments Partners: 7,36%
• Capital Group: 5,42%
• Caixa Geral de Depósitos: 4,98%

• Portugal Telecom Homepage (in Portuguese)
• Portugal Telecom Homepage (in English)
• SAPO Homepage, the main brand of Portugal Telecom on the web (in Portuguese)