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To: zbyslaw owczarczyk who wrote (10347)	3/16/1999 7:16:00 PM
From: zbyslaw owczarczyk	Respond to of 18016

Ameritech CEO sees SBC merger complete at mid-year DETROIT, March 16 (Reuters) - The proposed acquisition of telecommunications company Ameritech Corp. (NYSE:AIT - news) by fellow Baby Bell SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC - news) is expected to be completed by this summer, Ameritech's chief executive officer said Tuesday. ''The projected completion date is mid-year,'' Richard Notebaert, Ameritech's CEO and chairman, said following a speech to the Economic Club of Detroit. Notebaert told the business group that he expected to receive the U.S. Department of Justice's opinion on the proposed merger by the end of the first quarter and said the Federal Communications Commission had indicated it would issue a decision by this summer. The merger has already been cleared by shareholders of both companies and European regulators but still needs approval from several state and federal agencies. Last May, Illinois-based Ameritech and Texas-based SBC said they would would combine in a deal that would rejoin three of the seven Baby Bells created from the 1984 split up of AT&T Corp. (NYSE:T - news). SBC has already acquired Pacific Telesis. At that time, the merger was valued at $61 billion. Notebaert also used his speech as an opportunity to criticize competitors who oppose the merger. ''Frankly, I consider it reprehensible when organizations like AT&T, MCI WorldCom (Inc. (Nasdaq:WCOM - news) and Sprint (Corp. (NYSE:FON - news)) -- organizations in the midst of their own expansions -- resort to misrepresentation and scare tactics in an effort to undermine similar aspirations of others,'' Notebaert said in prepared remarks. He also said he envisioned a telecommunications industry that had six to eight large international providers offering a full range of services, and a much larger number of smaller companies specializing in niche services like technology or customer service.