Qwest Gives Up on MCI Bid.
2005-05-03, HostMan.biz
Qwest (qwest.com) bowed out of the running to acquire Internet service and Web hosting provider MCI (mci.com) late on Monday, reports say, just hours after Verizon (verizon.com) announced it would sweeten its acquisition offer to $8.5 billion. MCI deemed Verizon's bid superior to Qwest's bid, reported to be worth $9.7 billion.
The news effectively ends Qwest's three-month long effort to acquire MCI and paves the way for rival Verizon to close the deal, creating one of the world’s largest telecommunications carriers and Web hosts. According to research and analysis firm Netcraft, MCI is the world's ninth largest host, home to 878,000 hostnames. MCI also has a strong large enterprise customer base.
Qwest made a concerted effort to acquire MCI because of concerns that it would have difficulty remaining independent as the telecom industry continues to consolidate. But MCI's board and many of its biggest customers reportedly preferred a Verizon takeover because of Qwest's shaky financial position.
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