O2 Reshuffles Board With Telefonica Takeover Near Completion

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- O2 PLC, the UK mobile telecommunications company, Monday reshuffled its board to include key Telefonica executives as the Spanish company's takeover of O2 nears completion.

Current O2 board member Peter Erskine has been appointed chairman and chief executive, while David Arculus, who has stepped down as chairman of the company, and Andrew Sukawaty will remain non-executive board members. David Finch, O2 finance director, and Rudi Groeger, head of O2 Germany, will remain executive directors.

Telefonica executives Cesar Alierta, chief executive, Julio Linares and Antonio Viana-Baptista, chairman of Telefonica Moviles, have all been appointed to O2's board.

Matthew Key, head of O2 U.K., Danuta Gray, head of O2 Ireland, Jamie Smith and Sohail Qadri have all been appointed as executive directors.

David Chance, Judy Gibbons, Stephen Hodge, Rudolf Lamprecht, Patrick Lupo and Kathleen O'Donovan have all stepped down as non-executive directors.

Telefonica, which announced in October it had agreed to buy O2 for nearly GBP18 billion, has acquired over 75% of the voting rights attached to O2 shares and its offer has subsequently gone unconditional.

Company Web site: Http://www.o2.com

-By Nic Fildes, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9264; nicolas.fildes@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires"

Posted to the site on 23rd January 2006