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Qwest expected to sweeten its offer for MCI

The WSJ reports that Qwest is planning to up its $8 billion bid for MCI.

Marguerite Reardon Former senior reporter
Marguerite Reardon started as a CNET News reporter in 2004, covering cellphone services, broadband, citywide Wi-Fi, the Net neutrality debate and the consolidation of the phone companies.
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Marguerite Reardon

Negotiations between Qwest and MCI are getting down to the wire, as a March 17th deadline looms.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Qwest is expected to raise its bid to buy MCI. It's not known yet how much Qwest will sweeten the deal, but it's expected to increase the cash portion of the offer, according to the article.

Qwest, which revised its initial bid, has already offered $8 billion for MCI, more than $1 billion above the accepted bid from Verizon Communications. Since Qwest made public information about its intitial and revised offers, shareholders have pressured the MCI board of directors to give Qwest another look. The deadline for Qwest's new bid is Thursday, March 17th.