MCI announced today about its intention to engage with Qwest to review its latest proposal from February 24, 2005 to acquire MCI. This decision was made with the concurrence of Verizon.

In entering into the merger agreement with Verizon on February 14, 2005, MCI's Board of Directors unanimously determined that the Verizon transaction was in the best interests of its shareholders.

At that time, Qwest was proposing two separate offers:

1) to acquire MCI for $18.27 per share, in cash or
2) to acquire MCI for 3.735 Qwest shares plus $7.50 in cash per MCI share. Both proposals allowed four quarterly dividends of $.40 per share.

The Board's decision followed an intense review of the changing dynamics of the telecommunication industry over the past year, including the recently announced mergers of SBC with AT&T and Sprint with Nextel.

Among the factors considered by the MCI Board in determining to enter into the merger agreement with Verizon were the Board's view of the changing competitive nature of the industry; increasing need for scale and comprehensive wireless capabilities; access economics; the level and achievability of synergies; strength of capital structure; the ongoing ability to sustain network service quality and invest in new capabilities; and ensuring ongoing customer confidence among MCI's large enterprise and government customers.

Source: Press Release

I think Verizon is the better partner for MCI. Verizon is a strong company with excellent local presence and cellular. MCI has the world's largest internet backbone and great commerical account penetration. What will Qwest bring but another bankruptcy proceeding?

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Final Fantasy