USCS Stock Falls 35% as TCI Signs With Rival

Share prices of USCS International Inc., which provides billing and customer-service operations for other companies, fell 35% after a large customer, Tele-Communications Inc., signed an exclusive contract with a competitor. Stock in Rancho Cordova-based USCS fell $10.88 to close at $20.13 on Nasdaq. More than 2.6 million shares changed hands, nearly seven times the three-month daily average. TCI signed a 15-year agreement with CSG Systems International Inc. Both companies are based in Englewood, Colo. The contract came along with CSG’s $132-million agreement to buy TCI’s SummiTrak system, which provides billing and customer services. TCI awarded CSG the exclusive contract for handling customer service and billing for TCI Cable Management Corp.’s customers. The agreement more than triples the number of TCI Cable customers CSG serves, to 13 million. Douglas Ashton, the Jefferies & Co. analyst that covers USCS, cut his recommendation on the stock to “hold” from “buy.” Neither Ashton nor USCS executives were immediately available to comment. CSG shares rose $3.25 to close at $26.38 on Nasdaq, and TCI shares rose 44 cents to close at $18.50, also on Nasdaq.