April 30 (Bloomberg) -- Cable & Wireless Plc, the U.K.'s second-biggest phone company, said it has no immediate plans to sell or spin off its businesses after the Observer newspaper said the company might split itself in two.

``Any discussion of spinning off our businesses is premature,'' the Bracknell, England-based company said today in an e-mailed statement. Cable & Wireless is focused on building its U.K. and international units and the strategy is ``progressing well.''

The Observer said yesterday that Cable & Wireless may split itself into British and international units and sell them to private-equity groups or competitors. Cable & Wireless is seeking opportunities in markets overseas as growth in the U.K. for traditional voice services has slowed.

``We are in the early stages in terms of both businesses and there is more work to do,'' the company said in the statement.

Cable & Wireless shares rose as much as 5.5 percent to 191.2 pence and traded at 189.8 pence at 9:23 a.m. in London trading. The shares rose 32 percent last year.

The company in September said it would consider acquisitions as part of a strategy to focus on faster-growing markets. The company forecast improving margins at the company's international businesses because of sales growth and lower costs.

Chairman Richard Lapthorne and managers John Pluthero and Harris Jones favor a split of the international and U.K. businesses, the Observer said, citing an unidentified person it said was familiar with the plan. A sale would have to assign Cable & Wireless a value of at least 228 pence a share, or the company's senior managers would lose a 200 million-pound payout, the newspaper said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Alex Armitage in London at aarmitage@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 30, 2007 04:28 EDT