Cable & Wireless Plc said late Wednesday that it has filed suit against MCI WorldCom Inc charging that it failed to fulfill the terms of the September 1998 agreement under which C&W purchased MCI’s internet business for $1.75bn. The suit, filed in a Federal Court in Delaware, seeks unspecified monetary damages and other relief. It alleges that MCI WorldCom has, among other things, failed to effectively transfer MCI’s internet customer base, impeded C&W’s ability to operate the business and targeted former MCI Internet customers for marketing purposes.
C&W maintains that, as a result of the alleged breaches of the agreement, it has lost a number of internet customers, revenue and marketing opportunities. In addition, the company says it has incurred significant recruiting costs for filling vacancies created by staff that MCI WorldCom failed to transfer, and that it has had to divert staff from other areas of its business in an attempt to fill the gaps. It adds that it has met with, and remains willing to meet with, MCI WorldCom to try to settle the matter but that the suit was necessary to protect its interests and its reputation.
