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To: Paul Reuben who wrote (3922)	2/10/1999 12:13:00 PM
From: K_28e	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 11568

Does anyone know when the earnings release is expected? I have heard it would be this week. Can anyone confirm.

To: Paul Reuben who wrote (3922)	2/10/1999 11:29:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 11568

EDS in Talks to Buy MCI WorldCom's Systemhouse Unit, People Say Bloomberg News February 10, 1999, 5:43 p.m. ET EDS in Talks to Buy MCI WorldCom's Systemhouse Unit, People Say Plano, Texas, Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Electronic Data Systems Corp., the No. 2 U.S. computer-services company, is in talks to buy MCI WorldCom Inc.'s Systemhouse computer-management division, people familiar with the discussions said. The two companies haven't agreed on financial terms of any transaction, the people said. Analysts estimate that Systemhouse had annual revenue of about $1.8 billion and could sell for several billion dollars. An agreement would call for EDS to provide computer-network management and consulting services to MCI WorldCom, the No. 2 U.S. long-distance telephone company, and WorldCom may become a major provider of phone and data services for EDS, the people said. MCI WorldCom held discussions with several suitors in the last two months, the people said. MCI WorldCom wants to shed Systemhouse to focus on its phone business. For EDS, adding Systemhouse would help reduce its reliance on contracts from former parent General Motors Corp., which accounted for about a quarter of EDS's 1998 revenue. ''It certainly reduces the GM'' dependence and ''doesn't dilute the (profit) margins of the company,'' said Merrill Lynch analyst Stephen McClellan. ''It's a step in the right direction.'' Officials at MCI WorldCom and EDS declined to comment. Systemhouse, which analysts estimates had an annual profit of about $162 million and margins of about 8 percent to 10 percent, competes with EDS, International Business Machines Corp., Computer Sciences Corp. and others. Sales Boost New EDS Chairman Richard Brown, who took over as the company's third chief executive last month, is looking to boost sales and earnings. The company's fourth-quarter profit fell 14 percent, while revenue rose 4.3 percent to $4.41 billion. Sales from General Motors were little changed. Brown, who turned Britain's Cable & Wireless Plc into the U.K.'s second-biggest telecommunications provider, is expected to aggressively pursue more profitable contracts from consulting. Brown said last week that he expects EDS to reclaim earnings growth of 10 percent or more because of strong demand for computer services. WorldCom completed its $47 billion purchase of MCI Communications Corp. in September, and Chief Executive Bernard Ebbers said he wouldn't tolerate declining sales as he seeks to deliver on promises for revenue and profit growth. Sales at Systemhouse, which MCI purchased for $1 billion in 1995, fell 25 percent in the third quarter after it eliminated some businesses. Ebbers has told investors to expect annual sales growth at the combined MCI WorldCom of about 20 percent. He's also said the company will boost profit by cutting $2.5 billion in costs in 1999. 'Strategies Change' MCI bought Ottawa-based SHL Systemhouse in 1995 to break into the computer-consulting business to help it compete with archrival AT&T Corp., as well as a joint venture between EDS and No. 3 long-distance company Sprint Corp. Systemhouse had $1.2 billion in sales at the time. The company, a pioneer in linking a variety of small and large computers over high-speed communications lines, was considered a perfect fit for MCI. For Ebbers, the communications business is all about growth, and MCI WorldCom is outpacing sales gains at AT&T and Sprint because of early investments in fast-growing Internet, international and local phone markets. When Ebbers, who led WorldCom in more than 50 acquisitions in the past 10 years, talks about building the company of the future, those are the investments he mentions. He doesn't talk about computer consulting. The Systemhouse sale would come as AT&T's new CEO, C. Michael Armstrong, agreed in December to buy IBM's global communications network for $5 billion. --Andrew Brooks in New Orleans, Loren Steffy in Dallas (214) 740-