WorldCom, MCI deal could rewrite script for a new phone era; Ebbers wins bidding war with $37 billion offer; BT exits with big gain; madcap Manhattan weekend

MCI accepts WorldCom Inc's offer and will be taken over in a stock deal valued at $51 a share, or $37 billion. The arrangement overrides WorldCom's previous $41.50-a-share stock offer, as well as a subsequent $40-a-share cash bid from GTE Corp. WorldCom's offer includes a $7 billion buyout of a 20% stake in MCI owned by British Telecom (BT). If GTE makes no counterbid, and if regulators approve WorldCom's offer, an MCI-WorldCom combination could emerge as one of the strongest communications companies. MCI is the second-largest long-distance company after AT&T, and WorldCom controls extensive local networks and important Internet 'backbones.' When the news of an agreement was released, WorldCom's shares fell $2.125 each, to $31. MCI's shares increased $4.625, to $41.50.