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Technology Stocks : Qwest Communications (Q) (formerly QWST) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Nick who wrote (988)	3/12/1998 8:35:00 PM
From: MangoBoy	Respond to of 6846

[Qwest, LCI say mulling listing on NYSE or Nasdaq] if they do move to the NYSE, i notice the symbol 'Q' is available! mark --- NEW YORK, March 9 (Reuters) - Qwest Communications International Inc and LCI International Inc said Monday they are still deciding on which stock exchange to trade shares of their combined company. In a conference call with analysts, executives from both companies said they had not yet addressed the issue.

To: Nick who wrote (988)	3/12/1998 8:41:00 PM
From: MangoBoy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6846

[INTERVIEW - Qwest expects to bolster data presence] NEW YORK, March 12 (Reuters) - Qwest Communications International Inc will likely strengthen its position in the data market before moving into new areas such as local telephone service, Qwest President Joseph Nacchio said in an interview. ''In the near-term, I think there is a lot more to be done to consolidate our position in the data area and the international area. I don't feel compelled to make a move into local at this time at all,'' he said. Nacchio, who is also Qwest's chief executive, downplayed market speculation that Qwest's next move would be to buy a competitive local exchange carrier, saying, ''I don't think we've consolidated or grown our position in core strengths as much as we can.'' The multimedia communications services company is currently building a $2 billion fiber optic network to transmit voice, data and video. The network will link 125 cities generating 80 percent of the nation's voice and data traffic. Nacchio said Qwest's recent $4.4 billion agreement to buy LCI International Inc is just the beginning of the company's growth plans. The proposed LCI deal is ''one step on a longer journey for Qwest....it is a great company for us to merge with (at) this time. When we accomplish this, there will be other opportunities to further enhance our growth.'' The Qwest-LCI merger would create the fourth-largest U.S. long distance company and combine Qwest's fiber optic network with LCI's sale and marketing expertise, distribution channels, and customer care and billing system. Longer-term, Qwest could be a ''good fit'' with a variety of companies, such a Baby Bell needing to gain a national presence, or a long distance carrier which needs a quick network upgrade, he said. ''Qwest is a great company. It can grow organically, through acquisition, and create value that way...but at the end of the day, on a strategic level, it could fit very well in a whole host of larger companies,'' he said. Internationally, Nacchio said Europe is ''terribly important'' to Qwest's growth plans. After Europe, the company will look toward Pacific Rim, Latin America and maybe Canada, he said. Qwest has been a Wall Street darling since it launched its initial public offering last June. Investors have flocked to the company because of Nacchio, who formerly led consumer long distance operations at AT&T, and its fiber optic network slated for completion next year. Qwest's stock traded at 38-5/8, down 15/16 on Thursday morning. The stock, which split on a two-for-one basis last month, has almost quadrupled since its June IPO. Nacchio declined to comment specifically about whether the company's stock would be able to maintain its breathless growth, but he said, ''I don't think everything that we're ever going to accomplish that adds value has already been done...we've just started.'' ''The distinction between data and Internet and traditional telephony is blurring. I think we're on the cutting edge of forcing that blurring,'' Nacchio said. Nacchio also dismissed critics who said demand for Qwest's network will be dampened as other companies create similar fiber-optic routes. Qwest faces competition from companies such such Williams Cos Inc , IXC Communications Inc and Level 3, a subsidiary of Peter Kiewit Sons' Inc, a private Omaha, Neb.-based company. ''I don't think technology is stopping. There's probably an enormous step forward in next 10 years that we can't even see.... I don't find anyone on the West Coast (in Silicon Valley) who thinks there's going to be a capacity glut,'' he said.