MCI embraces Qwest's $9.75B Takeover bid

MCI embraced a $9.75 billion takeover bid from Qwest on Saturday, finally succumbing to pressure to scrap its lower-priced deal with Verizon. Verizon Communications Inc. now has five business days to respond with an improved proposal or possibly walk away the loser after a nearly three-month bidding war. MCI Inc. said its board of directors, after shunning three prior bids from Qwest Communications Inc., had determined that the latest offer was superior to the long-distance phone company's $7.5 billion agreement with Verizon. Verizon and Qwest have been battling for MCI since late January, when their mutual rival SBC Communications Inc. reached a deal to acquire long-distance carrier AT&T Corp. for $16 billion. Based in Ashburn, Va., MCI has been hit hard by competition and a bankruptcy brought on by the WorldCom scandal, but still possesses a valuable customer base and national fiber-optic network.