U.S. Upstart Wrestles BT Over MCI

Just when the British Telecom merger with MCI seemed like a done deal, up steps an American firm to throw a spanner in the works. WorldCom, the U.S. telecommunications upstart that bought CompuServe a couple of weeks ago and snapped up Brooks Fiber, a local telephone company Tuesday, decided Wednesday to have MCI for dessert. Money Daily reports that WorldCom will offer $30 billion in stock for the long-distance carrier, trumping BT's offer by about $12 billion. But it seems everyone was a winner as BT, MCI and WorldCom stock all soared on the London markets.