Verizon makes successful bid of $ 6.7 bn for MCI
New York: The third big telephone industry merger in two months took place with Verizon Communications Inc.winning the bidding to acquire MCI Corp. This follows on the heel of the buyout of rival AT&T Corp. by SBC Communications Inc.

The sudden rash of interest in MCI, which recently changed its name from WorldCom In. after suffering bankruptcy and accusations of fraud, was set off by the $ 16 billion deal reached two weeks ago between AT&T and SBC, a top rival for both Verizon and Qwest.

Verizon, a dominant local phone company in the Northeast and a top cellular player, probably won out with a lower bid because of it's larger and better financial shape than Qwest, a local phone carrier across the more sparsely populated Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest.
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Yukos sues Russian groups over Yuganskneftegaz sale
Houston: Russian oil company Yukos is suing four Russian groups for over $ 20 billion for their role in the sale of the company's Yuganskneftegaz unit which was sold in December at a disputed government auction

Yukos sued Russian natural gas giant Gazprom, former Gazprom unit Gazpromneft, Baikal Finance Group and the state-owned oil company Rosneft late Friday in US District Court in Houston, Yukos said.

Yukos filed the bankruptcy in Houston in December in an unsuccessful effort to block the auction of Yuganskneftegaz, which was ordered by the Russian government to help pay a disputed $ 27.5 billion back-tax levy.

Yuganskneftegaz was the company's main production subsidiary.
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