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To: Anthony Wong who wrote (8536)	1/9/1999 10:23:00 AM
From: jimmyo	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 10227

MCI/WORLDCOM: will NOT bid for Air, Anounced last night. Over and done with. Arnie, was it a play on Nextel or what? I think They needed to turn a few screws on Craig and it might have worked, or it at least seems so.IMO. NEXTEL is not for sale, but it sure could use a partner, MCI shareholders are stretched as it is now, ITS A MATCH. MCI/World needs it done soon also, Italian, Germans now looking closer and they(M/W) don't want anyone bidding up the price on Nextel. IMO It's a NO BRAINER, nice move world com. I think you laid out a few scenarials on Yahoo,that was one wasn't it Arnie, you don't cese to amaze me! Would you be interested in financing the DoLittle Inn? jimmyo.....Kevin, my condolences to you and your family, I have an idea on how you feel.

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (8536)	1/10/1999 6:57:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 10227

Sunday Times: BT seeks US ally for £36bn AirTouch bid January 10 1999 Andrew Lorenz and Kirstie Hamilton A HUNT for a local partner to join in a £36 billion bid for AirTouch, the American mobile-phone group, has been launched by British Telecommunications. The aim is to counter Vodafone's AirTouch bid. Wall Street investment bankers said that last week BT notified Morgan Stanley, the investment bank advising AirTouch, of its interest in buying the company, America's largest independent cellular operator. BT, whose adviser is NM Rothschild, appears keen to own AirTouch's panoply of international mobile interests, which include attractive stakes in licences in Germany, Italy, Spain, where AirTouch is partnered by BT, and France. AirTouch's overseas interests could be worth about £18 billion, analysts say. BT is believed to have considered a bid for AirTouch last year but had to concentrate on clinching a network-services joint venture with AT&T. BT has abundant firepower to fund a large bid. "It could muster about £9 billion in cash without raising an eyebrow," said one analyst. With its shares close to their peak, its paper would also be attractive. But the terms of the AT&T venture bar BT from competing with AT&T in its home market, so BT must find an American ally if it is to join the AirTouch battle. Wall Street bankers believe one American player BT may have approached is Bell Atlantic, the East Coast local operator that sparked the AirTouch battle with a £27 billion bid. That offer was countered by Vodafone, Britain's leading mobile-phone company, which has used its high-flying share price to make a £33 billion offer for AirTouch. The two companies know each other well and have considered a possible merger or alliance several times in the past four years. A combination of Vodafone, advised by Goldman Sachs, and AirTouch would create a group with a larger market worth than BT, which is valued at £61.8 billion, compared with Vodafone's £32.9 billion. BT cannot link up with AT&T to bid for AirTouch because the two American companies are the top domestic mobile-phone operators. Even though the two combined would have less than 25% of the market, regulators are thought highly unlikely to let a deal through. BT is considering a number of candidates that could make suitable partners for an AirTouch bid. Among these, Bell South and South Western Bell are favoured by analysts. Meanwhile, MCI WorldCom has ruled itself out of the bidding. "We reviewed the strategy and decided it was not worth pursuing," it said. Vodafone, which stepped in with a counter offer for AirTouch after news of its talks with Bell Atlantic leaked nine days ago, is awaiting a response from the San Francisco firm.

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (8536)	1/10/1999 7:01:00 AM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 10227

MCI WorldCom, Without AirTouch, May Still Pursue Wireless By Craig Karmin NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--MCI WorldCom Inc.'s (WCOM) announcement late Friday that it will not bid on AirTouch Communications Inc. (ATI) doesn't mean that the telecom giant won't soon pursue other options for wireless service. "After reviewing the possibility of a combination with AirTouch Communications, MCI WorldCom has determined not to pursue a bid for company at this time," said a MCI WorldCom spokesman in a statement. "We will continue to explore opportunities that best address the interests of MCI WorldCom customers and shreholders,"the statement concluded. Industry observers have noted that MCI WorldCom chief executive Bernie Ebbers -- whose company has made more than 50 acquistions in the past 10 years -- has been unethusiastic about the wireless industry. But the company's acknowledgement that it considered a deal seemed to suggest a thaw in his resistance. This may be especially true now that WorldCom owns MCI, which added millions of retail consuemrs to the acquirer's mostly business customer base. "He has said that wireless is not yet a strategic enough part of the package for their core customers," said Mel Marten, an analyst with Edward Jones. "That is probably changing, but AirTouch was not the best way to go about it." Despite a price tag that might have cost more than $50 billion, AirTouch would have brought only a regional wireless footprint, leaving MCI WorldCom at a disadvantage to the national prescence of AT&T Corp. (T) and Sprint PCS (PCS), analysts noted. Still, they said the market should not rule out persistent speculation that MCI WorldCom could acquire Nextel Communications Inc. (NXTL), the last remaining major independent wireless carrier besides AirTouch. MCI WorldCom's formal withdrawl from the process leaves Bell Atlantic Corp. (BEL) and the U.K.'s Vodafone Group Plc. (VOD) still with offers on the table for AirTouch. Market participants said that an announcement by AirTouch could come as early as Monday. - By Craig Karmin; 201-938-2020 -craig.karmin@cor.dowjones.com (END) DOW JONES NEWS 01-08-99 05:05 PM