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MCI airbrushed as Verizon takeover completed

MCI who?

The MCI name is being airbrushed and replaced instead by a new logo following the completion of its takeover by US telco Verizon. After ten months of wrangling Verizon has finally completed its acquisition of MCI - the US telco formerly known as WorldCom most noted for being at the centre of an $11bn accounting scandal.

Announcing the completion of the deal on Friday, Verizon Chairman and chief exec Ivan Seidenberg described it as a "milestone for Verizon" as it creates "a new competitive force with the power of the global MCI network and the reach of Verizon's broadband and wireless networks in the US".

MCI's business operation has now been folded into Verizon and is now known as "Verizon Business". Further details of Verizon Business are due to be unveiled at a later date.

Verizon first announced plans to swallow MCI on Valentine's Day 2005 but things soon turned ugly when Qwest muscled in for a slice of the action.

Despite both Qwest and Verizon knocking lumps out of each other in what became an increasingly bitter takeover scrap, MCI finally opted for the $8.4bn bid from Verizon believing it was a safer bet than Qwest's $9.8bn offer.

As part of the completion of the deal Michael Capellas, the former president and CEO of MCI, is leaving the company.

Based in New York, Verizon has some 250,000 workers and generates annual revenues of around $90bn. ®

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