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To: Anthony Wong who wrote (2712)	6/23/1998 2:38:00 PM
From: Caxton Rhodes	Respond to of 11568

C&W Set to Swallow MCI Internet Assets Whole By Colleen McElroy at Bloomberg News 23-JUN-98 Cable & Wireless Plc Chief Executive Richard Brown said the second-biggest UK-based phone company is in talks to buy the Internet assets that MCI Communications Corp. must shed to get regulatory approval for its acquisition by WorldCom Inc. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ "Cable & Wireless is in discussions with MCI right now about whatever it is they may need to sell to satisfy regulators," Brown said. "We remain highly interested and we are pursuing with MCI, in great earnestness, discussions about the possible acquisition of this asset base." MCI wouldn't comment on potential buyers for the Internet assets. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ Yesterday, the European Union agreed to approve WorldCom's proposed $44.0 billion purchase of MCI, the No. 2 US long-distance company, after MCI said it would sell its Internet business. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ Cable & Wireless agreed last month to buy MCI's wholesale Internet operations, which carries traffic for other Internet service providers, for $625 million in cash. When that failed to stem regulatory opposition, MCI offered to sell all its Internet businesses and said it will shed its consumer and business customers. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ The European Commission, the EU's executive agency, will hand down its formal approval July 8 with US regulators expected to give their blessing soon after. MCI will probably wait until it gets the regulatory green light before unveiling a buyer for the Internet operations. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ If talks with MCI aren't successful, Brown said Cable & Wireless will look for other opportunities to boost operations in the US. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ "We are looking for ways to accelerate our growth," he said. Cable & Wireless is the sixth-largest carrier of long- distance traffic in the US, with sales of $1 billion and annual growth of 18 percent, he said. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ Cable & Wireless transmits one-third of the world's Internet traffic outside the US, Brown said. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ "The future of communications is the Internet," said Brown. "It's an extremely efficient way to transmit data." MCI and WorldCom, the No. 4 US long-distance company, expect to complete their combination this summer. That would create the second-largest US phone company behind AT&T Corp. MCI WorldCom will control about a quarter of the $70 billion-a-year US long-distance market and offer local services in more than 100 cities. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ <Picture: CI Report>Related Stories Stories Related by Keyword