Verizon Communications will purchase 43.4 million shares of MCI from Carlos Slim Helu, the largest individual stakeholder in MCI, for $25.72 per share in cash.
The shares represent approximately 13.7% stake in MCI.
Verizon Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg said, “While this was an opportunity for us to purchase a block of shares under unique circumstances and is an important step forward in our acquisition of MCI, we will continue to assess the situation as we move toward a vote by the MCI shareholders.”
In response, Qwest issued a statement saying “By entering into its deal with Mr. Slim, Verizon has both created two classes of shareholders and called into question the MCI board’s previous determination that Verizon’s lower offer to the other MCI shareholders was superior and fair. We believe Qwest has a superior proposal for all shareholders.”http://www.verizon.com
http://www.qwest.com
