graphic
News > Deals
U.S. eyes NTT-Verio deal
July 6, 2000: 1:24 p.m. ET

Potential takeover of ISP by Japan firm raises national security concerns
graphic
graphic graphic
graphic
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Nippon Telegraph & Telephone's planned acquisition of Internet service provider Verio has come under scrutiny by the U.S. government, which is worried the deal could compromise national security.

The Treasury Department is now heading a joint inquiry that includes the FBI, National Security Council (NSC), and the Departments of State, Defense and Commerce, an NSC source confirmed Thursday.

The concern is that foreign ownership of Verio will inhibit the government's ability to maintain surveillance over the company's telecommunications network, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The FBI requires access to obtain wiretaps for the serving of subpoenas in their investigations.

graphicNTT announced last Friday that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., a body within the Treasury Department, is conducting a 45-day review of the planned merger of Japan's leading telecommunications company and the corporate Internet and Web hosting firm.

The company said in a statement it believes the transaction does raise national security concerns.

NTT announced May 8 that it would acquire Verio (VRIO: Research, Estimates) for $5.5 billion, or $60 per share, for the 90 percent of the company it did not already own.

The FBI has also raised concerns in past multinational telecom deals, including the merger of the wireless assets of Bell Atlantic and Britain's Vodafone Airtouch, the report said.

Verio shares fell 1-3/16 to 54-11/16 in Thursday afternoon trading. Back to top

  RELATED STORIES

NTT annual profit rises 13 % - May 26, 2000




graphic

© 2009 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Privacy Policy
Live Quotes automatically refresh, but individual equities are delayed 15 minutes for Nasdaq, and 20 minutes for other exchanges. Market indexes are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET.
* : Time reflects local markets trading time. † - Intraday data delayed 15 minutes for Nasdaq, and 20 minutes for other exchanges. Disclaimer
Copyright © 2009 BigCharts.com Inc. All rights reserved. Please see our Terms of Use.
MarketWatch, the MarketWatch logo, and BigCharts are registered trademarks of MarketWatch, Inc.
Intraday data provided by Interactive Data Real-Time Services and subject to the Terms of Use.
Intraday data is at least 20-minutes delayed. All times are ET.
Historical, current end-of-day data, and splits data provided by Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data.
Fundamental data provided by Morningstar, Inc..
SEC Filings data provided by Edgar Online Inc..
Earnings data provided by FactSet CallStreet, LLC.
Home | Contact Us | Advertise with Us | Corrections | Career Opportunities | Site Map
RSS | Email Delivery | Portfolio | Podcasts | Mobile | Widgets | User Preferences | Special Sections
| Magazine Customer Service | Download Fortune Lists | Reprints | Conferences | Business Leader Council