TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Bell Atlantic Corp., Nynex Corp. Close to Merger Deal: The two large Baby Bells are close to agreement on a $23-billion merger and board members may vote on a plan as early as Monday, two sources close to the discussions told the Washington Post. Shareholders of the two companies would exchange their stock for shares in the new company, but negotiations have been hung up on questions of how many old shares each new share would be worth. Nynex has been asking for a higher price than Bell Atlantic wants to give, the sources said. Together, Philadelphia-based Bell Atlantic and New York-based Nynex would control local telephone service from Maine to the North Carolina border. They also would jointly offer long-distance service. Nynex and Bell Atlantic already market cellular phone service together.