Battle for MCI: VZ in, Qwest Out
Bloomberg News reports that MCI has accepted a new $7.6 billion takeover offer from Verizon Communications Inc., rejecting a $8.45 billion offer from Qwest. VZ is offering $23.50 a share in cash and stock, including 40 cent dividend given out by MCI to its share holders. Q had made an offer of $26 a share. Why am I not surprised by this turn of events? Clearly MCI doesn’t want to be sold to Q, because deep down they know that it has so many problems which only a deep pocketed parent can fix. MCI shareholders are opposing the deal and will start putting more pressure on the company. The interesting thing to note in all this is that a company which is still in the shadows of a scandal is treating its shareholders like step children. Has corporate America not learned anything from the recent past?
Will the acquisition of a global IP network provider by a local US operator mean break-up for the network? Anyone know what Verizon’s vision is for the rest of world? Interesting questions and data on this here:
http://www.zero-sum.net/mci.html
AG.
Let’s not complain about this too much. In the end putting these two animals in the same zoo can make life in the telecom jungle a bit more calm and perhaps even easier to observe.