mergers

AT&T Is Buying T-Mobile

Second-ranked AT&T is buying fourth-ranked T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom AG for $39 billion in cash and stock, which will create the country’s largest wireless carrier. With the merger, AT&T will retire the T-Mobile name and immediately gain around 130 million customers. That will give them a 30 percent lead on Verizon Wireless and a two-to-one lead on Sprint Nextel. But it’ll likely come at the expense of thousands of jobs — AT&T employs around 267,000 people and T-Mobile, 38,000. The deal was pitched as a way to clear up network congestion, as AT&T ramps up plans to build a new network. But it still could all fall through: The FCC has to approve the deal, and they’ve been critical of the decrease in wireless options in the last year.

AT&T to Buy Rival in $39 Billion Deal [WSJ]

AT&T Is Buying T-Mobile