RCN Seeks to Enter Midwest

RCN Corp., which provides Internet, phone and cable services on the East and West coasts, pushed into the Midwest as it agreed to acquire closely held 21st Century Telecom Group Inc. of Chicago for about $260 million in stock. The deal will extend the reach of RCN’s fiber-optic networks to 3.1 million Chicago-area homes. Under the deal, 21st Century shareholders will receive about 4.7 million RCN shares and an offer to exchange 21st Century preferred stock for 62 million RCN shares. Shares of Princeton, N.J.-based RCN gained $2.81 to close at $44.44 on Nasdaq.