Court overturns WorldCom ruling

[emad]

The Times
By Christine Seib


MARIO MONTI, the outgoing EU Competition Commissioner, was dealt another humiliating blow yesterday when a European court ruled that he was wrong to have blocked WorldCom’s $127 billion bid for Sprint Corp four years ago.

The ruling, which marks the fourth time that the European Court of First Instance in Luxembourg has overturned a decision by Signor Monti, bodes well for Microsoft as the software giant prepares to challenge a Commission ruling in the same court tomorrow.

Although yesterday’s ruling against Signor Monti was on a technicality, WorldCom, the US telecoms group now called MCI, said that the decision cleared the way for it to pursue other deals in Europe with a clean regulatory slate.

WorldCom wrote to the EU Competition Commission on June 27, 2000, to say that it had abandoned a takeover bid for its rival, Sprint. But the Commission blocked the deal anyway, claiming that the two companies were still in talks about a revised deal. The Commission’s lawyers argued in the Court of First Instance that WorldCom’s withdrawal was a “sham”. The court, however, decided it was legitimate and that the Commission’s ruling had exceeded its powers.
More:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,172-1284614,00.html

[sandnsea]

1. Oh lovely

"WorldCom, the US telecoms group now called MCI, said that the decision cleared the way for it to pursue other deals in Europe with a clean regulatory slate."

Don't y'all wish we could just change our names and hum along as if our debt didn't even exist?

[Parche]

2. worldcom

Isnt Matcom a subsidiary of Worldcom?