AT&T Digs In for a D.C. Fight
Companies never want to see their merger talks leak, but AT&T Inc. was especially concerned.
Will the proposed AT&T purchase of T-Mobile pass regulatory muster? The ‘digits’ panel looks at lawmakers’ feelings and how consumers will fare.
The former Baby Bell, which built itself up through a decade of acquisitions into the country’s largest telecommunications company, was planning to buy T-Mobile USA, a deal that would test its skilled regulatory team in Washington.
The combination would bring together the second and fourth largest U.S. wireless operators by revenue, creating a giant in an already concentrated market. People familiar with the matter said AT&T executives, fearing a leak could build regulatory opposition even before the two sides agreed on a deal, kept the number of banks involved strictly limited for weeks. It leaned on J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. alone to provide a $20 billion loan.
