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EXHIBIT 99.1
WILLIAMS COMMUNICATIONS ANNOUNCES
PRIVATE PLACEMENT OF CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED
STOCK
TULSA-- Williams Communications (NYSE:WCG) announced today that it is
considering plans to sell approximately $250 million of convertible preferred
stock in a private placement. The securities will not be registered under the
Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States
without registration or an applicable exemption from the registration
requirements.
The proceeds from the sale of the securities will be used to continue the
enhancement and expansion of the Williams Communications network and for working
capital and general corporate purposes.
About Williams Communications Group, Inc. (NYSE:WCG)
Williams Communications, through its subsidiaries, is North America's only
exclusively carrier-focused fiber-optic network and the largest independent
source of end-to-end integrated business communications solutions - data, voice
or video. Based in Tulsa, Okla., Williams Communications had revenues of $2
billion in 1999 and today has more than 10,000 employees primarily in North
America, with offices in Europe and Asia and investments in South America and
Australia. Approximately 85 percent of WCG stock is held by Williams (NYSE:WMB)
which, in 1985, became the first energy company to harness its core competency
as a builder of networks to enable competition in the communications industry.
Additional information is available at www.williams.com and
www.williamscommunications.com.
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Portions of this
document may constitute "forward-looking statements" as defined by federal law.
Although the company believes any such statements are based on reasonable
assumptions, there is no assurance that actual outcomes will not be materially
different. Any such statements are made in reliance on the "safe harbor"
protections provided under the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995. Additional
information about issues that could lead to material changes in performance is
contained in the company's annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. This news release is not an offer to sell, nor the solicitation of
an offer to buy, any securities. Any offer will be made only by means of a
prospectus registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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CONTACT INFORMATION:
Lynne Butterworth Patricia Kraft
(918) 573-3692 (918) 573-0649
[email protected] [email protected]
