Cable & Wireless offered 17 Bermudian dollars per share for the company, Bracknell, England-based Cable & Wireless said today in a Regulatory News Service statement. The offer is 35 percent more than the 30-day weighted average closing price of $12.61, Cable & Wireless said.

Cable & Wireless, whose cable lines once spanned the British empire, is seeking to grow internationally as growth at home is constrained by increased competition and falling demand for traditional voice services. The company said in January that it was reorganizing into two main units, one in the U.K. and the other to run the international business.

"The provision of a comprehensive service offering combined with Cable & Wireless' international scale and expertise will benefit both our customers and the economy of Bermuda," said Harris Jones, Cable & Wireless's group managing director, international.

KeyTech, based in Hamilton, Bermuda, runs Bermuda Telecom, M3 Wireless and Bermuda Yellow Pages. Cable & Wireless has been the "primary" provider of international telecommunications services in Bermuda for more than 115 years, the company said.

The shares rose 2.25 pence, or 2 percent, to 113.25 pence in London. Shares of Cable & Wireless have slipped 5 percent this year, trimming the company's market value to 2.74 billion pounds ($5.07 billion).