Antitrust Regulation: $39 Billion Bid for T-Mobile USA Ends

By Rob Scott
December 20, 2011

It’s official: AT&T announced yesterday it has ended its effort to purchase T-Mobile USA. The company explained it could no longer combat federal opposition to form the nation’s largest cellphone service provider.
“The decision to scrap the $39 billion takeover — which would have been the biggest deal of the year — is a major setback for AT&T, which had pinned its hopes for growth on the acquisition,” reports The New York Times. “The company wanted T-Mobile’s cellular airwaves, or spectrum, to relieve its congested network and offer faster service for data-hungry devices like the iPhone.”
Consumer advocates believe the merger would have led to a powerful duopoly of AT&T and Verizon Wireless.
“Consumers won today,” said Sharis A. Pozen, the Justice Department’s acting assistant attorney general for antitrust. “Had AT&T acquired T-Mobile, consumers in the wireless marketplace would have faced higher prices and reduced innovation.”
AT&T said in a statement that it would continue to invest in wireless spectrum, and suggested that wireless customers “will be harmed and needed investment will be stifled by the regulators’ decisions.”

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