AT&T has been hard at work to make sure their pending T-Mobile acquisition doesn’t fall through. Sources close to the situation say that AT&T is working on a “two-track plan” to address concerns raised in the recent complaint filed by U.S. antitrust regulators.
While the specifics of the plan can’t be confirmed, AT&T is said to be preparing itself to make concessions in an effort to ease the federal fears that the merger will reduce competition and raise wireless cost. Among the concessions being considered are the sale of T-Mobile assets and the possible retention of T-Mobile value-orientated rate plans.
Some sources say that to make the deal work, AT&T may have to sell nearly 25% of T-Mobile’s network and customer base. While the regional assets will likely be sought after by smaller carriers looking to grow out their coverage, the national assets have fewer potential buyers.
Two main possibilities are Sprint and Verizon, but that may not happen anytime soon, as an acquisition like that would raise antitrust scrutiny of its own.
AT&T has a lot on the line as they would have to shell out $6 Billion in compensatory fees to T-Mobile’s parent company, Deutsche Telekom, if the deal falls through. Some sources say that AT&T is feeling confident about their new solution. With $6 billion on the line, I hope for their sake that they are right.
[via techcrunch]
