The Year’s most outlandish merger rumor – the acquisition of British Telecommunications Plc by Microsoft Corp – has had cold water poured over it by Bill Gates himself, who said in Paris yesterday that Microsoft has never been in discussions to buy any phone company or even a part of one, including BT. The denial frees BT’s short-sighted investors to get back on the hunt for an international takeover target for BT that will deliver significant earnings growth in the short term. The general reluctance of BT’s shareholders to approve the proposed merger with MCI Corp merger caused the destruction of two years of long term strategic planning at BT, and gave the more dynamic WorldCom the opportunity to buy the company instead.
