NTT Communications Corp. announced Monday that it will acquire Verio Inc. of the United States, a major Internet service provider, in order to become a "full-service player" in Asia, Europe and the U.S.

The two firms agreed that NTT Communications, a subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., will buy all the outstanding shares of Verio at $60 per share in a deal totaling $5.5 billion.

According to the agreement, a U.S. subsidiary of NTT Communications will make a tender offer no later than May 17 and subsequently merge with the Colorado-based firm. , NTT Communications said. The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2000.

Verio, established in 1996, is one of the largest operators of Web sites for businesses, hosting some 400,000 Web sites in 127 countries. The company, capitalized at $2.03 million and having some 2,000 personnel, posted annual sales of $258 million for 1999.

NTT Communications covers international and domestic long-distance calls as well as Internet-related services.

The company will integrate its Internet-protocol networks in Asia with Verio's Web hosting and e-business capabilities in the U.S., which the firm says will enable it to offer more value-added Internet services.

"We will be able to offer 'one-network' Internet-protocol solutions under a single-policy operating structure" in the U.S. and Asia, NTT Communications President and Chief Executive Officer Masanobu Suzuki said. in a written statement. The tender offer is subject to the customary terms and conditions, and the transaction will be valid only if NTT Communications succeeds in acquiring more than half of Verio, 10 percent of which NTT Communications already owns.

If realized, it would be the largest acquisition by a Japanese firm of a U.S. company since Japan Tobacco Inc. purchased RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp.'s overseas cigarette business for some $7.8 billion in May 1999.

Junichiro Miyazu, president of the parent NTT, said in a statement: "I expect the acquisition to allow us to develop our Internet services on a wider scale worldwide and with higher quality.

"We will help to build the business in line with the NTT group's three-year management plan, which lays out full-fledged development in the U.S. and Europe on top of our base in Asia, thereby increasing NTT's corporate value in the long term."

Justin Jaschke, chief executive officer of Verio, said, "This transaction brings together two of the world's leading Internet companies to form an even stronger global IP competitor."

Moody's rates NTT

Moody's Investors Service said Monday that it has confirmed the Aa1 long-term ratings of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. following the NTT group's announcement that it will acquire a major U.S. Web-based business solutions provider.

"The acquisition is part of NTT's strategies to expand its global presence. The impact to NTT should be manageable," the U.S. credit rating agency said.

The outlook for the ratings is stable, it said.

NTT Communications Corp., a subsidiary of the Japanese telecom giant, said earlier in the day that it will buy all outstanding shares of Nasdaq-listed Verio Inc. -- excluding the 10 percent stake it already owns -- for $60 per share in a transaction valued at around $5.5 billion.

NTT Communications' U.S. subsidiary will make a tender offer by May 17 and subsequently merge with Verio.