BellSouth eyes Sprint, BellSouth pursuing No. 3 long-distance
company, newspaper says
March 15, 2001: 5:40 a.m. ET
(Interesting - the article says BellSouth would then sell out of Cingular. That would be a very strong endorsement of CDMA for South America IMO - Jeff Vayda)
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - BellSouth Corp. is trying to buy Sprint Corp., the
nation's No. 3 long-distance telephone company, but any deal is probably
months away, the Washington Post reported Thursday.
Quoting sources familiar with the talks, the newspaper also said that SBC
Communications Inc., the biggest local phone company in the Midwest, Texas
and California, is talking about acquiring WorldCom Inc., the No. 2
long-distance carrier. But the sources said there had been no talks between
SBC and WorldCom in recent weeks, the newspaper said.
The report said BellSouth is discussing a complex deal to buy Sprint along
with its national wireless business, then sell its 40 percent stake in Cingular
Wireless back to its joint-venture partner, SBC. No proposed prices were
mentioned in the report.
All three companies declined to comment, the newspaper said, noting a Sprint
spokesman called the account "rumor and speculation."
According to the newspaper's sources, SBC's conversations with WorldCom
began earlier this year and have recently cooled, but both companies remain
interested.
At a conference in New York Wednesday, WorldCom Chief Executive Bernie
Ebbers was asked if WorldCom has held merger talks with SBC. He replied,
"We haven't had any discussions." SBC said Tuesday it has no current plans
for acquisitions.
The newspaper said falling stock prices have made some companies
potentially more attractive, while the Bush administration is expected to be
less likely than its predecessor to block mergers.
Sprint (FON: Research, Estimates) stock fell 84 cents to $20.56 Wednesday,
WorldCom (WCOM: Research, Estimates) rose $1.25 to $16.44 and SBC
(SBC: Research, Estimates) fell $2.82 to $42.11. |
