AT&T to take $4-bn charge as $39-bn T-Mobile merger nears collapse

AT&T, the largest mobile and fixed line operator in the US, yesterday said that it would take a $4-billion charge in the final quarter, in case its proposed $39 billion acquisition of Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile USA unit fails.

The Dallas, Texas-based $124-billion company acknowledged that its proposed acquisition faces an uphill task with the regulators, rivals and politicians dead-set against the deal.

The final nail in the coffin was dealt earlier this week by Julius Genachowski, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman, who said that the merger does not meet the commission's standard for approval as it would cause job losses and higher prices for consumers.

Genachowski later began circulating a proposed order to other commissioners to refer the case to an administrative law judge, the first indication that the commission intends to block the deal.

Following the FCC's public stance, AT&T and Deutsche Telekom yesterday withdrew their anti-trust approval application filed with the FCC, but said that they would continue to seek clearance for the deal from the US Department of Justice (DoJ).

AT&T needs both regulators to sign off to get the merger through.