To the thread - another take from IBD
I didn't see this posted as I reviewed the board. I guess no one read today's IBD. If you have a local library you may want to go check out the IBD's TOP 6/10. I'll type out some of the paragraphs.
BellSouth Seen Joining Bidding For 2 Telecoms
The regional Bell might make a joint bid with Qwest Communications International for US West and Frontier Corp., people familiar with the situation said. Bell South may even go after the telecomunications companies by itself. Qwest has made a hostile bid for US West and Frontier in hopes of breaking up a merger deal the companies have with Global Crossing
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But telecom executives and analysts say that, a possible future Qwest bid aside, BellSouth will act because it has much at stake in the Qwest-Global Crossing battle.
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More than that, Global Crossing immediately would become much larger than BellSouth should it buy US West and Frontier. Pressure on BellSouth's go-it-alone stategy would increase, analysts say. It alone among the five regional Bells doesn't have a major merger in the works.
And analysts say BellSouth has the cash to step up and aid Qwest's takeover bid.
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Another scenario, say analysts, is that all the companies huddle together to split up the assets.
Throwing BellSouth's assets into the picture could create more powerful synergy, analysts say.
"It's not unimaginable all five companies are in talks about how to create one super-carrier," said Berge Ayvazian, an analyst at researcher Yankee Group. "The puzzle pieces fit together in a way that's not obvious."
What could emerge, in fact, is a rival to AT&T Corp. and MCI WorldCom Inc.
"A Qwest-Global Crossing merger would make a lot of sense," said Atlanta-based analyst Jeffery Kagan. "Qwest is building a U.S. network and Global Crossing is building the global connections."
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Analysts say that if Denver-based Qwest's takeover fails, count BellSouth as a loser, too.
"If Global wins, it really marginalizes BellSouth's potential," said Kirby at Renaissance. |
