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To: ANANT who wrote (2666)	6/18/1998 10:21:00 PM
From: jabbo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 11568

I believe that after the bell MCI refuted news that the EU had given its approval to the merger.

To: ANANT who wrote (2666)	6/19/1998 1:43:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 11568

FOCUS-C&W drops MCI lawsuit, but continues talks Thursday June 18, 9:57 pm Eastern Time NEW YORK, June 18 (Reuters) - Cable & Wireless Plc (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: CW.L) dropped its breach of contract lawsuit against MCI Communications Corp. (MCIC - news) but continued discussions about buying MCI's Internet assets, a source familiar with the talks said Thursday. Cable & Wireless' move to drop the suit came at a crucial time in the delicate dance involving competition regulators in the United States and Europe who were reviewing the proposed merger of MCI and WorldCom Inc. (WCOM - news) Merger experts from the 15 European Union member states will meet Friday to consider a draft decision to ban the proposed $37 billion merger unless the two U.S. telecommunications partners make sufficient concessions. A spokesman for Cable & Wireless confirmed that the British company dropped the lawsuit and said the two companies were in talks. He declined to discuss the nature of those talks or provide further comment. MCI declined to comment. A source familiar with the talks said the discussions centered on Cable & Wireless possibly buying an expanded package of MCI's Internet assets. It was not immediately clear whether MCI has, or may, hold talks with other potential buyers as well. Cable & Wireless last month agreed to buy MCI's wholesale Internet business for $625 million, but regulators said that divestiture would not be enough for MCI to win regulatory approval for the WorldCom merger. Since then, MCI and WorldCom have negotiated with regulators to find a formula that would permit the merger. Cable & Wireless, fearing it might wind up with nothing if MCI revised its divestiture plans, filed the lawsuit earlier this month. Cable & Wireless aimed to protect its original agreement to purchase the wholesale Internet assets. Cable & Wireless also said its contact obligated MCI to first offer it a chance to buy any revised package of assets that are sold. A federal judge last week rejected Cable & Wireless' request to bar MCI from offering an expanded deal to any other company for 10 days. MCI would have to pay Cable & Wireless a termination fee of $25 million to break their existing agreement. As the European merger experts prepared to meet in Brussels, Belgium, on Friday, EU regulators also asked MCI and WorldCom rivals to comment on new conditions that could be imposed to ensure the combined company would not dominate supply of Internet backbone services. The regulators are considering requiring MCI to transfer all its Internet customers, including business and residential customers, and to meet stringent non-compete provisions, a source familiar with the EU inquiry said. MCI declined to comment on its discussions with regulators and said it is confident an agreement will be reached. The European Commission has until July 15 to give its verdict, but wants to take the issue to its weekly meeting on July 8.