AT&T (T) to Sell Billions in Assets for T-Mobile Merger Approval
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In an effort to position itself better for government approval in it's proposed acquisition of T-Mobile, AT&T (NYSE: T) may be willing to sell billions in assets.
The Wall Street Journal reports Friday morning AT&T has retained Bank of America/Merrill Lynch to explore alternatives, including the sale of up to $8 billion or more in customers and wireless spectrum. Approval of the plan might come as early as the first quarter of 2012.
Even with the sale, AT&T will face tough regulatory scrutiny. The WSJ notes AT&T may need to sell off other network assets which would otherwise give the combined company too much power.
AT&T is currently the second and T-Mobile the fourth largest wireless carriers in the U.S.
The proposed merger has been backed by numerous state authorities and elected officials, as well as Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Facebook, who, no doubt, probably hope to capitalize on the arrangement. A vocal dissenter on the deal has been Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) CEO Dan Hesse.
One of the biggest political rebukes to date has come from Wisconsin Senator Herb Kohl, who stated in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski that the deal, "would likely cause substantial harm to competition and consumers, would be contrary to antitrust law and not in the public interest."
AT&T shares are up modestly pre-market Friday, while Sprint is down 1.6 percent.
The Wall Street Journal reports Friday morning AT&T has retained Bank of America/Merrill Lynch to explore alternatives, including the sale of up to $8 billion or more in customers and wireless spectrum. Approval of the plan might come as early as the first quarter of 2012.
Even with the sale, AT&T will face tough regulatory scrutiny. The WSJ notes AT&T may need to sell off other network assets which would otherwise give the combined company too much power.
AT&T is currently the second and T-Mobile the fourth largest wireless carriers in the U.S.
The proposed merger has been backed by numerous state authorities and elected officials, as well as Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Facebook, who, no doubt, probably hope to capitalize on the arrangement. A vocal dissenter on the deal has been Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) CEO Dan Hesse.
One of the biggest political rebukes to date has come from Wisconsin Senator Herb Kohl, who stated in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski that the deal, "would likely cause substantial harm to competition and consumers, would be contrary to antitrust law and not in the public interest."
AT&T shares are up modestly pre-market Friday, while Sprint is down 1.6 percent.
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