AT&T Pulls T-Mobile Merger Application From FCC, Will Take $4B Charge

[cal04]

Source: PC Magazine

AT&T said today that it withdrew from the Federal Communications Commission its application to acquire T-Mobile, and will incur a $4 billion "break-up fee."

The wireless carrier insisted, however, that the deal is not dead, and said it will instead focus on winning an antitrust lawsuit brought forth by the Department of Justice, which seeks to block the merger over competition concerns.

"AT&T Inc. and Deutsche Telekom AG are continuing to pursue the sale of Deutsche Telekom's U.S. wireless assets to AT&T and are taking this step to facilitate the consideration of all options at the FCC and to focus their continuing efforts on obtaining antitrust clearance for the transaction from the Department of Justice either through the litigation pending before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ... or alternate means," AT&T said in a statement. "As soon as practical, AT&T Inc. and Deutsche Telekom AG intend to seek the necessary FCC approval."

(snip)
The move comes two days after FCC chairman Julius Genachowski recommended to his fellow commissioners that the merger be reviewed by an administrative law judge because it was not in the public interest.

Read more: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2396861,00.asp

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AT&T Deal With T-Mobile Takes a Step Back
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/25/technology/att-deal-with-t-mobile-takes-a-step-back.html?_r=1&hp&gwh=077822E4072BD093074DB04648E4CAAB

[DallasNE]

1. Said Another Way

AT&T will pour tons of Citizens United money into ensuring a Republican is elected President so they can have the FCC is their hip pocket.

[leftyohiolib]

5. something for the if-obama-does-x -he'll-lose-my-vote crowd to think over

to the -both parties are just the same crowd- do you see a difference now?this is a done deal under prsident willard romney. gone is the cut to military from the super-committe deal etc.

[quakerboy]

13. And the continuation of the tax cuts for the rich

Of course, many of us are far from convinced that all three of those things aren't going to happen

[leftyohiolib]

15. i dont have the gift of seeing the future

[quakerboy]

17. Nor do I

But I do have the ability to see patterns of behavior and anticipate potential future actions by people.

I suppose I could just start believing that the past bears no connection to the future.

[Lucky Luciano]

2. CEO for AT&T should be fired. He was crazy to think this deal would survive scrutiny. nt

[Tesha]

9. de la Vega was doing the right thing for his company and may yet prevail. (NT)

[Lucky Luciano]

12. But a $4B break fee for a merger with obvious antitrust issues is an insane risk. nt

[99 Percent Sure]

3. Yay! For now. nt

[Exultant Democracy]

4. I wonder if the 4 billion will make up for how many people fled T-mobile

I know I'm not the only one who switched over fear of going back to att.

[avaistheone1]

8. I am a happy camper with TMobile. So I am glad I hung in there

and AT&T did not get its hands on this gem.

[Sherman A1]

6. Yup, spotted it earlier

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2373863

[avaistheone1]

7. WooHoo! I have TMobile and I am very pleased with them.

I would hate to have seen what AT&T would have done to this company.


This decision is a huge win for consumers.


I am thrilled.



k&r

:kick:

[cal04]

10. AT&T braces for T-Mobile deal collapse

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45430824/ns/business/

(snip)
Espirito Santo analysts said AT&T's decision to take the $4 billion charge this quarter showed the company's own assessment of the chances of success had fallen, causing its auditors to force the company to take the hit now.

"It tells us something about timing too — suggesting that AT&T may decide to walk away at the first opportunity (March 20, 2012) rather than waiting for the ultimate September 20, 2012 deadline," they wrote in a note to clients.

(snip)
"I don't believe there's any politician in America who's interested in being associated with something that has a negative impact on the job situation in America," Denmark-based telecoms consultant John Strand of Strand Consult, told Reuters.

[Joe Bacon]

11. I remember what AT&T did to Cingular

Swallowed them up and made them part of AT&T's crappy network.

I'm glad I can keep my T-Moblie laptop card!

[Tesha]

14. You seem to be confused about how that worked.

Essentially, Cingular bought the AT&T brand and changed their name
to the far-better-known AT&T.

Tesha

[Joe Bacon]

19. All I know is that when AT&T took over, the phone service deteriorated!

Never had problems with Cingular, but the minute AT&T got their hands on it, the calls dropped like flies.

[truebrit71]

16. As a long-term subscriber to T-Mobile I must say that I am thrilled to hear this..

..If I wanted shitty coverage, over-priced terms, and lousy customer service I would have chosen NSAT&T in the first place...

[wordpix]

18. switching to T-Mobile after reading these comments, thanks

[Norrin Radd]

20. Yay! I have friends who work for T-Mobile, so this is good news.