Lost among the excitement surrounding its bid for MCI Communications Corp, Worldcom confirmed that it is to acquire US local telecoms company Brooks Fiber Properties Inc, a fast-growing US local phone provider. Under terms of the agreement between the two companies, structured to qualify as a pooling of interests, each share of Brooks common stock will be exchanged for 1.65 shares of WorldCom common stock – valuing Brooks at around $2.4bn. Prior to the deal, St. Louis-based Brooks Fiber has a current market value of around $1.8bn. WorldCom said the deal would nearly triple the number of switches controlled by the company as well as adding services skills.
