WorldCom Ex-CEO’s Lenders Seek Repayment

Lenders to WorldCom Inc. founder Bernard Ebbers, who owes as much as $408.2 million backed by his stock holdings, demanded partial repayment and sold 17% of his stake in the No. 2 U.S. long-distance company. WorldCom said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that “margin sales” since April 5 have cut Ebbers’ holdings by almost 3 million WorldCom shares and by 118,991 MCI Group tracking shares linked to WorldCom’s consumer long-distance business.

The filing didn’t say who made the “margin calls,” and a WorldCom spokesman declined to comment. Brokerages or lenders may issue a margin call to an investor when stock that was bought partially with borrowed money, or on margin, declines below the value of the loan. If the investor cannot pay the amount of the loan that’s called, the lender may sell the stock.

WorldCom and Ebbers, who resigned as chairman and chief executive last month, are under investigation by the SEC for $408.2million in loans made or guaranteed by the company.