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To: ANANT who wrote (2677)	6/19/1998 2:59:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 11568

Worldcom Inc. Reiterated Long-Term 'Buy' at Merrill Bloomberg News June 19, 1998, 1:34 p.m. ET Princeton, New Jersey, June 19 (Bloomberg Data) -- Worldcom Inc. (WCOM US) was reiterated long-term ''buy'' by analyst Daniel P. Reingold at Merrill Lynch & Co. The 12-month target price is $63.00 per share. The long-term rating remained ''a ccumulate.'' -- Michael Donohue in Princeton, New Jersey, (609)279-3156

To: ANANT who wrote (2677)	6/19/1998 3:02:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 11568

EU Takes Step to Approving WorldCom'sPurchase of MCI (Update1) Bloomberg News June 19, 1998, 2:28 p.m. ET EU Takes Step to Approving WorldCom's Purchase of MCI (Update1) (Adds analyst and investor comments. Updates share activity.) Brussels, June 19 (Bloomberg) -- European Union regulators plan to approve WorldCom Inc.'s proposed $42.7 billion purchase of MCI Communications Corp. in the next few days after MCI answers further questions on its offer to sell its Internet business, said an EU official close to the negotiations. European Commission antitrust experts today told a committee of competition officials from the 15 EU countries the companies have allayed almost all of their concerns that the combined company would dominate the Internet, the official said. In a non- binding recommendation, the committee voted unanimously to support approving the acquisition once all concerns have been addressed. Today's vote puts MCI and WorldCom one step closer to completing the purchase later this summer, creating the second- largest U.S. phone company and a stronger competitor to No. 1 AT&T Corp. European and U.S. regulators have been working in tandem to review the purchase, and analysts and investors expect approval from the Justice Department to come soon after a go- ahead from the EU. ''The EU was always expected to be a lot harder to please,'' said Jeffrey Kagan, president of market researcher Kagan Telecom Associates. ''If the companies can pass the EU's exam, they can pass the DOJ.'' Shares of Washington-based MCI rose 1 11/16 to 56 3/8 in midafternoon trading. Jackson, Mississippi-based WorldCom rose 1 5/8 to 47 3/8 on trading of 15.5 million shares, making it the second-most active stock in U.S. markets. WorldCom spokesman Mark Weeks wouldn't comment on the latest developments, though he said ''fruitful'' discussions are still going on. MCI also declined to comment. Today's vote was good news for MCI and WorldCom investors, who've been concerned regulators' could delay the completion of the purchase. They expect MCI and WorldCom to quickly recover from any setbacks selling MCI's Internet business may cause. ''The synergies of this deal more than outweigh what they'll have to give up,'' said Jeffrey Adams, an analyst at Denver Investment Advisors, which owns 9.3 million WorldCom shares. ''This is going to be by far the best positioned telecom company.'' The combined MCI WorldCom will control about a quarter of the $70 billion-a-year U.S. long-distance market and offer local services in more than 100 cities. A Few Final Questions The EU is waiting for MCI to address some outstanding questions about how it will transfer its Internet customer accounts to the company that buys its Internet assets, the EU official said, without giving details. EU antitrust officials' decision to approve the acquisition will need approval by the 20-member European Commission, the EU's executive agency. A final ruling is expected on July 8. The EU official said any decision by EU regulators will be discussed with U.S. Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission officials, who almost must approve the purchase. Commission officials on Wednesday asked competitors of MCI and WorldCom to comment on the concessions the companies offered. Their responses are now being reviewed, the EU official said. Though some competitors said the concessions didn't go far enough, their concerns don't look substantial enough to necessitate further concessions, the official said. The conditions the commission outlined to competitors included requiring MCI to give its Internet customer accounts to the company that buys the business and a guarantee from MCI that it won't try to reacquire its old customers following the sale, said Estelle Rozine, spokeswoman for France Telecom SA, which received the list of concessions. MCI agreed in principle last week to sell all its Internet assets, after its proposed sale of its wholesale Internet business to Cable & Wireless Plc failed to satisfy EU concerns. MCI's earlier agreement with Cable & Wireless only included MCI's wholesale clients and not business and consumer Internet customers. --Alison Jahncke in the Brussels bureau (32 2) 285 4300 and

To: ANANT who wrote (2677)	6/19/1998 3:10:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 11568

Dow Jones: EU Advisers Give Conditional Approval To WorldCom-MCI Marriage June 19, 1998 2:11 PM NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- MCI Communications Corp. and WorldCom Inc. appear to have cleared one key hurdle in their effort to win regulatory approval of their planned $37 billion marriage. Although advisers from the member nations of the European Union concluded a key meeting Friday without a formal vote or recommendation, sources told Dow Jones the officials gave conditional approval. Merrill Lynch & Co. analyst Daniel Reingold said a committee has been appointed to tie up loose ends, but no significant issues remain. The approval paves the way for a formal blessing from the EU Commission by July 15, a formal deadline for the regulators to pass judgment on the merger. "I think it's a done deal," said Credit Suisse First Boston analyst Frank Governali, citing sources in Europe. The European approval could also set the stage for approval by the Justice Department, which has worked with EU regulators in probing the deal. "I think this was the big hurdle," said Governali. "Given the very close collaboration between the EU task force and the U.S. Department of Justice, the recommendation bodes well for next month's approval from the EU and also Department of Justice approval probably sometime this summer," said Reingold. Regulators have taken a hard line on WorldCom's planned takeover of MCI, fearful that the combined companies would control too much of the Internet. MCI initially planned to sell some of its Internet assets to Cable & Wireless PLC for $625 million but later decided to shop its entire Internet business to other carriers to appease regulators. The EU's conditional approval is believed to be based on a condition that MCI agrees to sell its entire Internet business to a buyer by next month. It remains unclear what company would buy MCI's Internet assets. The short list includes Cable & Wireless, Williams Cos., IXC Communications Inc., and British Telecommunications PLC. Other companies that have expressed interest include Qwest Communications International Inc., PSINet Inc. and WinStar Communications Inc. MCI is ready to put on the block 3,000 corporate customers of the Washington-based company's high-speed Internet service, as well as more than 200,000 consumer users, people familiar the plan said. The merger partners are also ready to make various assurances that WorldCom wouldn't try to lure any of MCI's current customers back into the combined company. Copyright (c) 1998 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

To: ANANT who wrote (2677)	6/19/1998 3:11:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 11568

Dow Jones: E.U. Source: Confirms New Proposals From MCI/Worldcom June 19, 1998 2:14 PM E.U. Source: Cautious Optimism On New MCI/Worldcom Proposals E.U. Source: Premature To Say MCI/Worldcom Resolved Discussed By Commission July 8 BRUSSELS (Dow Jones)--A European Union source confirmed late Friday that the Commission has received fresh proposals from U.S. telecommunications groups MCI Communications Corp. (MCIC) and Worldcom Inc. (WCOM) in a bid to gain approval for their planned merger. The source said the Commission is "moderately optimistic" that a positive decision will eventually be reached, which would allow the merger to go ahead. However, he warned: "It would be premature to say any deal has been reached." "We are still trying to ascertain if (the new proposals) are enough, and market testing is still going on," the source said. He was referring to consultations with competitors of MCI and Worldcom to determine whether the merger would distort competition. He refused to comment on the outcome of a meeting of competition specialists from the 15 member states of the E.U., that ran from 0700 GMT until 1115 GMT in Brussels Friday. The committee of specialists were reviewing MCI and Worldcom's intended merger. The source confirmed that they were aware of the new proposals, but he said the meeting "is only a mandatory step in the procedure of drafting a decision." The source pointed out that the decision on whether to give a green light to the intended merger "will be taken by the Commission." He said the 20 European commissioners will most likely debate the MCI/Worldcom merger case July 8, at their weekly meeting. Meanwhile, Frank Walter, spokesman for MCI said late Friday: "We remain very optimistic. We hope to reach an agreement soon; these negotiations are ongoing." -By Paul Meller;32-2-285-0132; pmeller@ap.org