Wiltel Network Services

LDDS Communications, an acquisitive and highly ambitious Jackson, Miss.-based phone company, took a giant step toward the telecommunications big leagues Monday when it agreed to buy long-distance carrier Wiltel Network Services for $2.5 billion in cash. LDDS, which is 20%-owned by billionaire John Kluge, agreed earlier this month to buy Culver City-based IDB Communications for about $705 million in stock.

LDDS Communications, an acquisitive and highly ambitious Jackson, Miss.-based phone company, took a giant step toward the telecommunications big leagues Monday when it agreed to buy long-distance carrier Wiltel Network Services for $2.5 billion in cash. LDDS, which is 20%-owned by billionaire John Kluge, agreed earlier this month to buy Culver City-based IDB Communications for about $705 million in stock.

A steep fall in the dollar sent bond yields soaring and dragged stock and bond prices lower Monday. Oil prices also dropped on signs that a strike by Nigerian oil workers might be unraveling. The dollar edged back toward its record low against the Japanese yen as dealers grew pessimistic about the outlook for progress in U.S.-Japan trade talks. Market participants said American investment funds and Japanese exporters were heavy sellers of the U.S.

Vaulting into the front ranks of the nation's telecommunications industry, long-distance carrier WorldCom Inc. said Monday that it will acquire the local phone operator MFS Communications Co. in a stock swap worth about $12.5 billion.