Qwest buying MCI? I *still* say Verizon would be the better suitor

Today's Wall Street Journal(sub. rq'd to read) reports that Qwest is in talks to acquire MCI.

The story has been picked up by the Associated Press and is available on numerous news sites, such as here at MSNBC.com.

Last week, I surmised that Verizon would be the best suitor for the once highly valued telecommunications giant. It would be a far more strategic fit for MCI's infrastructure assets than an acquisition by an aggressive, but still regional player such as Qwest.

The Journal and AP articles quoted analysts that seem to think that MCI is talking to Qwest in order to bring the other big ILEC's into the game. I wouldn't dismiss the notion. Still, though even though Qwest is smaller than its remaining ILEC rivals, their $8 billion market cap is bigger than MCI's $6.4 billion.

Apart from the reason that Qwest may see an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to thrust themselves into the big time by buying a telcom infrastructure leader at a fire sale price.

BellSouth owns part of Cingular with SBC. SBC is buying AT&T. BellSouth is not going to compete with a company they already have a mission-critical partnership with.

But Verizon should buy Qwest.

If MCI is talking to Qwest to make Verizon jealous, I gotta tell ya. Sounds like some of the dating games I have been involved in before I became the sensitive, caring male I am now :-)

What's your prediction on who will wind up with MCI? Let's get a debate going. Post a TalkBack.