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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ritch who wrote (29522)	5/8/1999 10:37:00 PM
From: Freeflight	Respond to of 152472

Workers Sue to Get Stock Options Wired News Report 3:00 a.m. 8.May.99.PDT Disgruntled Qualcomm employees filed a lawsuit against their employer, claiming that the telecom equipment maker bilked them out of unvested stock options as part of a restructuring move. The lawsuit demands that unvested stock options for workers in Qualcomm's infrastructure division be immediately vested. It also seeks unspecified damages. The total figure could exceed US$50 million. The suit was formed in response to Qualcomm's decision to sell its money-losing infrastructure division to Ericsson of Sweden. Employees in this division were told they would have to give up unvested portions of their stock options because of the sale. Thomas Sprague, Qualcomm's vice president of project management, is a lead plaintiff in the suit. He says he could lose $1 million in unvested options. Qualcomm officials couldn't be reached for comment. - - - AT&T scrutinized: US Federal Communications Commission Chairman William Kennard on Friday warned that AT&T's acquisition of MediaOne Group will require extensive review by his agency. "This is a complex transaction," Kennard said in a statement. "Because of its size and reach and the many novel legal and policy issues involved, this proposed merger warrants very careful scrutiny." Kennard's agency has the ability to block mergers or impose conditions if it concludes that a deal is not in the public interest or harms consumers or other market players. AT&T (T) agreed earlier this week to buy MediaOne (UMG), the third-largest US cable company, in a $58 billion deal that would make the long-distance phone giant the largest US cable operator. AT&T has repeatedly tried to assure investors that it would take whatever steps necessary to comply with US laws and FCC rules to allow the deal to go ahead. Kennard's short statement was in sharp contrast to his remarks last year, when he welcomed AT&T's first cable acquisition, a $48 billion purchase of Tele-Communications Inc. - - - Deal approved: The Department of Justice approved Bell Atlantic's $52.8 billion purchase of GTE on Friday. As required by law, the two companies will divest overlapping wireless systems in nine states. The companies still face substantial hurdles before the deal can be completed, with reviews pending before the FCC and state regulators. GTE (GTE) and Bell Atlantic (BEL) announced last July that they would merge their interests. GTE has scheduled a shareholder vote on the transaction on 18 May, while Bell Atlantic stockholders will vote on the deal on 19 May. Reuters contributed to this report.