41.   The competition between rival bidders was expected to benefit Italian soccer clubs as it may result in boosted prices of broadcast rights.

42.   The French government announced in October its choice of Lagardere Group over rival bidder Alcatel Alsthom SA to take over Thomson.

43.   The rival bidders have been talking to the central bank for the past two months about taking over the firm.

44.   The rival bidders may not agree.

45.   They only helped settle disputes between rival bidders, he said, without elaborating.

46.   They already have visited rival bidders Beijing, Osaka, Toronto and Istanbul.

47.   He recalled that South Korea had promised to share some events with North Korea if the South won the rights to host the Cup over rival bidder Japan.

48.   Recent press reports have named News Corp. as a rival bidder for MGM and Stokes said those reports had been largely accurate.

49.   Rival bidders included the Virgin Group owned by entrepreneur Richard Branson and a management and employee buy-out team.

50.   The announcement came as a rival bidder for Sante Fe, Homestake Mining Company, withdrew its offer and said it would pursue other opportunities.