AT&T's 11th-Hour Plan To Save Its Deal With T-Mobile

The New York Times:

AT&T has been secretly working on an audacious 11th-hour deal to salvage the transaction: AT&T is knee-deep in talks with Leap Wireless, a second-tier but growing wireless player, to sell it a big piece of T-Mobile's customer accounts and some of its wireless spectrum, according to people involved in the negotiations.

Read the whole story: The New York Times

Comments

[ur2nutty4me]

05:00 PM on 11/29/2011

Who wants to bet if the deal fails and they pay 4 billion dolars, the CEO and board still get a bonus..........................

[lindaj3884]

03:11 PM on 11/29/2011

So AT&T will sell spectrum and customer accounts of T-Mobile to Leap Wireless. Wow. Don't you T-Mobile customers feel secure now? Either way look for big job losses.

[Ozarks]

01:40 PM on 11/29/2011

You are living in dream land. AT&T is just playing to stockholders not to boot the whole lot of them. Eating $4 billion cash payment to Mobile plus another $2 billion in leasing and routing losses so they can "refile" sometime in the future is hilarious.Being an administrative rather than a judicial Based on FCC Chairman's statements, I suggest you read FCC's Staff's apparent prefiled direct since that is the only way he could come to his conclusions without illegal "ex parte" communications with Staff . Those facts won't go away and will thru discovery ( Like multiple interrogatories to FCC staff , Mobile and AT&T) be admitted as evidence in the DOJ lawsuit

[Lucille]

01:05 PM on 11/29/2011

AT&T's own un-redacted documents mistakenly submitted to the DOJ reveal the primary goal of this merger is to eliminate competition which clears the way for a duopoly with Verizon. Now AT&T is emphasizing the need for spectrum like it's a noble quest, when they could have improved their infrastructure, spectrum or no for $3.9 billion instead of attempting to purchase T-Mobile for more than double of what it’s worth at least according to this article. Not only should this merger fail, AT&T should be broken up again as they were many years ago.

[Rich Phitzwell]

01:41 PM on 11/29/2011

I wouldnt underestimate at&t's need for spectrum, simply put they are maxed out. I dont feel sorry for them as they were the only one that didnt purchase any during the last auction.

It really is a classic example of how companies knowingly put themselves in a bad position to force another reaction. In this case, less competition.

[jed Houston]

12:11 PM on 11/29/2011

I am so happy that it's still all falling apart.

[SDLee]

12:04 PM on 11/29/2011

That's 4 billion in bonus' and fee to lots of fat men. And AT&T's plan to "shed assets" in order to gain approval is just another way to say "shed jobs." These managers are just robber barons.

[Bogey907]

11:26 AM on 11/29/2011

Pound sand, AT&T. If the deal goes through I'm leaving T-Mobile for Sprint ASAP.

[lindaj3884]

03:13 PM on 11/29/2011

Go now. T-Mobile used to have ethics. No more. Get out while you can.

[bigshotprof]

11:25 AM on 11/29/2011

So not "bribe some congressmen?"

[Steven Travis]

11:03 AM on 11/29/2011

Previously AT&T tried to pass this merger off as a "GOOD THING" for customers. How will this new plan be sold as such?