AT&T reaches out to smaller carriers for pawning off assets to get the T-Mobile deal approved
AT&T, in its attempts to convince the Justice Department that the proposed T-Mobile deal won't result in a US carrier duopoly, is reportedly trying to sell some of its assets to rivals.
Sources say that it has been reaching out to Metro PCS, Leap Wireless, Dish Network, CenturyLink and even Sprint, trying to gauge their interest in having spectrum or subscribers pawned off. Considering that both Sprint and Cellular South are suing against the deal, the involvement of Sprint seems interesting.
The trial between DoJ and AT&T is set for February 13 and will last four to six weeks, so both sides will have enough time to prepare. If the carrier manages to scale down in certain areas, it might have a fighting chance for the deal to get through, analysts think.
Wayne Watts, who orchestrated some of the biggest mergers and acquisitions in the industry that resulted in what is now AT&T, is heading the legal team of the carrier, and, although WSJ says he was "blindsided" by the DoJ antitrust lawsuit, he is probably the best person to pull it through. Unless the whole opposition thing is not smoke and mirrors, of course.
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