AT&T (T) Ends Bid for T-Mobile USA; Will Record $4B Charge in Q4
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AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) announced Monday following a review of options, the company has agreed with Deutsche Telekom AG to end its bid to acquire T-Mobile USA. The talks were made formal all the way back in March.
The company said it will record a pre-tax charge of $4 billion during the fourth quarter of this year related break-up considerations with Deutsche Telekom.
"AT&T will continue to be aggressive in leading the mobile Internet revolution," said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and CEO. "Over the past four years we have invested more in our networks than any other U.S. company. As a result, today we deliver best-in-class mobile broadband speeds – connecting smartphones, tablets and emerging devices at a record pace – and we are well under way with our nationwide 4G LTE deployment.
"To meet the needs of our customers, we will continue to invest," Stephenson said. "However, adding capacity to meet these needs will require policymakers to do two things. First, in the near term, they should allow the free markets to work so that additional spectrum is available to meet the immediate needs of the U.S. wireless industry, including expeditiously approving our acquisition of unused Qualcomm spectrum currently pending before the FCC. Second, policymakers should enact legislation to meet our nation’s longer-term spectrum needs."
Following the release, shares of AT&T are trading down less than a percent while shares of Sprint (NYSE: S) are trading up about 5 percent. Shares of Dish Network (Nasdaq: DISH) are also trading up as the company’s management team announced earlier it would be interested in acquiring T-Mobile if the AT&T deal never went through. Tower stocks are also seeing a slight increase in after-hours trading: shares of American Tower Corp. (NYSE: AMT) are up 0.3 percent, shares of Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE: CCI) are up 0.2 percent, and shares of SBA Communications Corp. (Nasdaq: SBAC) are up 0.8 percent.
The company said it will record a pre-tax charge of $4 billion during the fourth quarter of this year related break-up considerations with Deutsche Telekom.
"AT&T will continue to be aggressive in leading the mobile Internet revolution," said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and CEO. "Over the past four years we have invested more in our networks than any other U.S. company. As a result, today we deliver best-in-class mobile broadband speeds – connecting smartphones, tablets and emerging devices at a record pace – and we are well under way with our nationwide 4G LTE deployment.
"To meet the needs of our customers, we will continue to invest," Stephenson said. "However, adding capacity to meet these needs will require policymakers to do two things. First, in the near term, they should allow the free markets to work so that additional spectrum is available to meet the immediate needs of the U.S. wireless industry, including expeditiously approving our acquisition of unused Qualcomm spectrum currently pending before the FCC. Second, policymakers should enact legislation to meet our nation’s longer-term spectrum needs."
Following the release, shares of AT&T are trading down less than a percent while shares of Sprint (NYSE: S) are trading up about 5 percent. Shares of Dish Network (Nasdaq: DISH) are also trading up as the company’s management team announced earlier it would be interested in acquiring T-Mobile if the AT&T deal never went through. Tower stocks are also seeing a slight increase in after-hours trading: shares of American Tower Corp. (NYSE: AMT) are up 0.3 percent, shares of Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE: CCI) are up 0.2 percent, and shares of SBA Communications Corp. (Nasdaq: SBAC) are up 0.8 percent.
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