Clinton, Miss., July 13, 2000 - WorldCom today announced the
termination of its merger agreement with Sprint, following action by
the boards of directors of both companies. The companies rejected
conditions demanded by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) that
would have eliminated the customer benefits and financial synergies
that supported the proposed merger.
The following statement should be attributed to Bernard J. Ebbers,
president and CEO of WorldCom, Inc:
"We very much regret that our merger with Sprint was not
allowed to proceed. The benefits of this merger were clear and
compelling. Opposition to this merger just adds to the list of
Kennard-Klein policies that ultimately will reduce innovation and
choice, and raise the cost of communications services, for
residential customers, particularly those in rural America.
"Sprint is a fine company. We wish them well.
"Moving forward, WorldCom remains the best-positioned global
carrier with a clear focus on the highest-growth sectors of the
domestic and global telecommunications marketplace.
"WorldCom has continued to expand on its core strengths since
the merger was proposed last year. We have consistently produced
significant quarter-to-quarter revenue growth in the data, Internet
and international communications services - businesses that represent
$18 billion of our annual revenue, growing 32 percent annually.
Without a doubt, these high-growth areas represent the future of the
industry and our company."
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