MCI has until next week to accept Qwest's $8.45bn offer - or the deal is off.

So says Qwest's boss Richard Notebaert, who's written yet another letter to the board of MCI asking the US telco to reconsider its offer.

MCI is currently being chased by two telcos eager to snap up the company formerly known as WorldCom. MCI has already accepted a $6.7bn offer in shares and cash to be bought out by Verizon. But Qwest got the hump after it said MCI ignored its $8bn bid.

Since then, Qwest's bid has been sweetened to $8.45bn and backed up by a barrage of insults.

Anyhow, in his latest letter Notebaert maintains that "statements of various MCI stockholders clearly indicated that may MCI stockholders have found our proposal superior to the Verizon offer."

And if Qwest has not "executed an agreement [with MCI] on or before midnight, April 5, 2005, our offer will be withdrawn," he said. ®

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