Brazilian Group Makes Competing Bid to Buy WorldCom's Brazilian Unit Group Offers US$550 million Cash, Topping Pending US$360 million Bid by Telmex SAO PAULO, Brazil, March 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Calais Participacoes, S.A., a Brazilian company owned by several leading Brazilian companies, today offered to buy WorldCom Inc.'s (symbol: WCOEQ, MCWEQ) Brazilian subsidiary, Embratel Participacoes S.A. (symbol: EMT), for US$550 million in cash. The bid tops the current US$360 million bid of Telefonos de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. (Telmex) (symbol: TMX) to buy Embratel, which was announced on March 15, 2004. Calais is owned by Geodex Communications S.A. and three of Brazil's leading telecom companies, Brasil Telecom S.A. (symbol: BTM), Telemar Norte Leste S.A. (symbol: TNE) and SP Telecommunicacoes Holding Ltda., a Brazilian unit of Telefonica (symbol: TEF). In its bid delivered earlier today to WorldCom, Calais provided the legal opinions of six leading Brazilian authorities to support its view that it will be able to obtain required Brazilian regulatory approvals for the acquisition on a timely basis. The experts include a recent President of the Brazilian telecom regulatory agency, Anatel, and the two leading legal advisors to the Brazilian governmentand Anatel in the creation of Anatel in 1997. Calais has also offered to make an upfront US$50 million deposit that would be forfeited if it is not able to obtain regulatory approval. Otavio Azevedo of Telemar Norte Leste S.A. stated: "The Calais offer represents a 53% premium over the current Telmex bid and would provide WorldCom and its creditors with an additional US$190 million in cash. We have asked WorldCom and its Creditors Committee to meet with us so that we can describe why we are confident that we will be able to obtain quick regulatory approval for our bid." DATASOURCE: Calais Participacoes, S.A. CONTACT: Michael Sitrick for Calais Participacoes, S.A., +1-212-573-6100

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