MCI WorldCom to Make More Acquisitions, Vice Chairman Says
Bloomberg News
September 28, 1999, 5:22 p.m. ET
MCI WorldCom to Make More Acquisitions, Vice Chairman Says
San Francisco, Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) -- MCI WorldCom Inc.,
the No. 2 U.S. long-distance phone company, isn't likely to stray
from its strategy of expanding through 75 acquisitions over the
past four years, said Vice Chairman John Sidgmore.
''It's probably unlikely that we're done (with acquisitions)
now,'' Sidgmore said at a Banc of America Securities conference.
''I think it's somewhat genetic at this point, and I do think we
still look at this as a golden opportunity. This really is a
watershed period in the telecommunications industry.''
Sidgmore, who is also president and chief executive of MCI
WorldCom's UUNet Technologies Inc. subsidiary, wasn't more
specific about the types of additional acquisitions the company
would pursue. He declined to comment on the status of merger
talks between the company and rival Sprint Corp., which were
disclosed Friday.
On Friday, a personal familiar with the negotiations said
the companies were talking about a combination that would give
MCI WorldCom the national wireless network analysts and investors
have said it needs, while allowing Sprint to team up with a deep-
pocketed partner to battle AT&T Corp., the No. 1 U.S. telephone
company.
No transaction is imminent and MCI WorldCom's talks with its
No. 3 ranked competitor could collapse, the person said Friday.
One proposal calls for MCI WorldCom to acquire Sprint with stock
and issue tracking shares for Sprint PCS, its unprofitable
wireless unit. A purchase of the businesses, which have a
combined market value of about $80 billion, would be one of the
largest ever.
USA Today reported today that an MCI WorldCom-Sprint merger
announcement could come next week, possibly as early as Monday.
Shares of Sprint, based in Westwood, Kansas, rose 1 1/4 and
its PCS wireless fell 3 to 73 1/2. Shares of Clinton, Mississippi-
based MCI WorldCom rose 5/16 to 74 3/16.
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