Britain's Cable & Wireless PLC on Thursday upped the stakes in its war with Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. to buy International Digital Communications Inc., announcing a new bid of 107,372 yen per share.

C&W hopes to bolster its stake in the international carrier to 33.4 percent through the offer, which it said will stand through June 5. It already holds 17.7 percent of IDC.

But Stephen R. Pettit, executive director of C&W, quickly stressed that the British carrier intends to own 100 percent of IDC's shares. C&W will carry out formal procedures for launching the proposed takeover bid with Japanese financial authorities today, Pettit said.