Qwest, ostensibly the loser in the race for MCI has divulged how much it was willing to pay. All $8bn of it.

Rival bidder, telco Verizon though saw its lower bid o $6.7bn accepted. The MCI board had knowledge of both offers when it accepted.

Now that investors can see the size of the gap, they must be wondering whether to accept Verizon's deal. Admittedly, Verizon might be a better strategic bet in terms of the US telecoms market. But is that extra strategic fit worth $1.3bn.

Following improved efficiency gains (read that as losing 5,500 staff or 12% of the workforce) Qwest has narrowed losses. In Q4 it made a loss of $139m compared to $407 a year earlier. Revenues were down from $3.49bn to $3.43bn

Qwest chairman and chief exec Richard Notebaert said he was "pleased with the progress made in 2004 and we like the momentum we have entering 2005 to drive additional growth in our key lines of business".

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