ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Wednesday, May 1, 1996                 TAG: 9605010064
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: B-7  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: FALLS CHURCH

UUNET BUYOUT HINTS OF A HYBRID

MFS Communications Co. agreed Tuesday to buy Internet access provider UUNet Technologies Inc. for $2 billion, one of the largest technology industry takeovers and a challenge to local telephone companies.

The merger gives the aggressive MFS a new weapon to pick off lucrative business customers from local phone companies. MFS has become a $500 million business by giving corporations and institutions cheaper access to long-distance companies than local providers do.

With UUNet, MFS can provide connections to the Internet as well.

Falls Church-based UUNet connects more businesses to the Internet than anyone, using higher-capacity lines than are typically available to consumers. It has connection points in 543 cities and towns around the world, nearly 300 outside the United States.

MFS' stock offer for UUNet amounted to $61.50 per share, a 27 percent premium over UUNet's market value on Monday.

UUNet's stock rose $10.50 per share to $58.75, a 22 percent jump, on the Nasdaq Stock Market Tuesday. MFS closed up about 61/4 cents at $34.683/4, also on Nasdaq. It will pay 1.78 of its shares for each of UUNet's 32.5 million shares.

- Associated Press

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