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To: H James Morris who wrote (52832)	4/27/1999 8:53:00 AM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Respond to of 164685

AtHome sees RoadRunner link as a possibility NEW YORK, April 26 (Reuters) - High-speed Internet access provider AtHome Corp. <ATHM.O> said the opportunity to combine or partner with its rival, RoadRunner, may develop if some of the companies' major investors merge. Two AtHome shareholders, AT&T Corp. <T.N> and Comcast Corp. <CMCSA.O> are currently competing to buy MediaOne Group Inc., the cable company which owns a stake in RoadRunner. When asked if an acquisition of MediaOne by either suitor could lead to a combination or partnership of AtHome and RoadRunner, AtHome Chairman Thomas Jermoluk said "there's an opportunity for us to harmonize the two services." "There's not a need to keep them separate or a need to keep them together. It's just a great opportunity. Why wouldn't you want to have them work together? There's compelling business and strategic reasons," he said. AtHome, while publicly-traded, is mostly owned by AT&T, Comcast, Cox Communications Inc. <COX.N>, Cablevision Systems Corp. <CVC.A> and others. RoadRunner is a joint venture of MediaOne, Time Warner Inc. <TWX.N>, Microsoft Corp. <MSFT.O>, Compaq Computer Corp. <CPQ.N> and closely-held publishing company Advance/Newhouse. Jermoluk said any potential discussions regarding AtHome and RoadRunner would have to wait until the MediaOne takeover battle becomes resolved. AT&T said last month it was too busy to contemplate merging the two Internet companies. Such discussions have taken place in the past, however. When AT&T forged a joint venture with Time Warner in February, AT&T and Time Warner discussed merging AtHome and RoadRunner but couldn't agree on a price, a source familiar with the situation said at that time. AT&T, meanwhile, also could sell its Internet business, including its WorldNet consumer operation, to AtHome in exchange for a greater stake in that high-flying company. Reports of that potential deal first surfaced in January. Jermoluk said the possibility of combining AT&T's WorldNet customers with AtHome makes strong strategic sense. "Doing a deal with WorldNet would be a very good deal for both of us," he said. While AtHome provides high-speed Internet access, having WorldNet's traditional dial-up Internet access business, as well, would help it ease some its customer backlog and generate new customer leads. Much of these benefits could be accomplished through joint marketing or partnerships, he said. AtHome expects its proposed $6.7 billion acquisition of Internet search and directory company Excite Inc. <XCIT.O> to close in about a month. The Redwood City, Calif.-based company said it expects additional acquisitions and partnerships as it expands in the United States and abroad. "We want to be as aggressive as we can be," Jermoluk said. Shares of AtHome closed at $160.56, up $2.06 on Nasdaq.