The German telecommunications and engineering group, Mannesman, has launched a vigorous defence of the company against the world's biggest hostile takeover bid from the Anglo-American group, Vodafone AirTouch.

The Chairman of Mannesman, Klaus Esser, said the one-hundred-and-thirty billion dollar bid from Vodafone was much lower than the real value of the company whose mobile phone business was growing twice as fast as Vodafone's.

Mr Esser said that, if successful, the Vodafone takeover would cost Mannesman shareholders dearly because of the complex investigations which would be mounted by European regulators. The BBC correspondent in Germany says Mannesman shareholders now have seven weeks to make up their minds.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service