Verizon's MCI buy clears final regulatory hurdle

Verizon has cleared the final regulatory hurdle in its year-long quest to purchase MCI. The companies now expect the acquisition, first announced in February of this year, to be completed in early January 2006, they said in a statement released Friday evening.

Washington became the last of 22 U.S. states to approve the $8.5 billion deal, with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission signing off on the acquisition Friday, the statement said. The Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice have granted formal approval over the past few months, and international approvals have also been completed, according to the two companies.

The merger of the two telecommunications providers will give Verizon, best known as a wireless and local phone service carrier, access to MCI's enterprise and government customers, as well as the company's Internet Protocol-based backbone, which reaches into more than 140 countries.

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Verizon has cleared the final regulatory hurdle in its year-long quest to purchase MCI. The companies now expect the acquisition, first announced in February of this year, to be completed in early January 2006, they said in a statement released Friday evening.

Washington became the last of 22 U.S. states to approve the $8.5 billion deal, with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission signing off on the acquisition Friday, the statement said. The Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice have granted formal approval over the past few months, and international approvals have also been completed, according to the two companies.

The merger of the two telecommunications providers will give Verizon, best known as a wireless and local phone service carrier, access to MCI's enterprise and government customers, as well as the company's Internet Protocol-based backbone, which reaches into more than 140 countries.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.