AT&T drops bid for T-Mobile

AT&T has dropped it's $39 billion bid for T-Mobile USA. AT&T will now pay T-Mobile $4 billion for the failed takeover.

From THR:

After weeks of speculation, AT&T on Monday officially ended its effort to acquire T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom AG, blaming overzealous government regulators whose objection to the deal will hurt consumers.

AT&T has been trying since March to acquire T-Mobile for $39 billion, though the Justice Department sued to kill the merger in August, and last month FCC chairman Julius Genachowski came out against the acquisition as well.

“The actions by the FCC and the Department of Justice to block this transaction do not change the realities of the U.S. wireless industry,” AT&T said Monday. “It is one of the most fiercely competitive industries in the world, with a mounting need for more spectrum that has not diminished and must be addressed immediately.”

“The AT&T and T-Mobile USA combination would have offered an interim solution to this spectrum shortage,” the company added. “In the absence of such steps, customers will be harmed and needed investment will be stifled.”
AT&T will take a $4 billion charge in the fourth quarter “to reflect break-up considerations due Deutsche Telekom,” the company said Monday.