WAKE UP, WORLDCOM

WorldCom's dirty laundry certainly haunts the industry, and holding on to its past would be yet another grave mistake. The company's newly crowned CEO Michael Cappellas has made clear that he intends to keep WorldCom in one piece throughout the bankruptcy process, and that isn't necessarily the best choice. How is WorldCom above shedding large assets while others — that don't have nearly as much debt — do? WorldCom now has about $41 billion in liabilities and $107 billion in assets. And according to a recent study released last week by The Eastern Management Group, companies like Level 3, Alltel and a few leveraged buyout firms are attempting to buy up some of WorldCom's assets. WorldCom needs to open its eyes to the fact that all isn't as it was in the past. And just because bankruptcy will free the carrier from huge debt loads, WorldCom shouldn't try to hang on to every shred of its assets. To start anew and have a chance of surviving, it must be willing to part with assets that either hurt its bottom line or are not critical to the company's future. Until it does, who could take the company seriously? WorldCom has already been poster child for corporate criminals, and misled the public and numerous government agencies. Isn't it about time for WorldCom to clean up its act and make some asset sales to slim down like many others in the same position have?We must hope the management team has or will come to their senses when and if purchase offers land in their laps.