An AT&T executive on Thursday indicated the wireless giant wasn't going to be able to allay the concerns of the Federal Communications Commission and U.S. Department of Justice over its now-defunct acquisition of T-Mobile USA, no matter what concessions AT&T made.
"We gave it our best shot but it became apparent to us that there were two agencies that would not be supportive of the deal in any form," The Financial Times quoted John Stankey, president and CEO of AT&T Business Solutions, as stating at a Citigroup conference in San Francisco.
The collapse of the deal between the nation's second- and fourth-largest wireless providers proved costly for AT&T since it had to pay T-Mobile's parent, Deutsche Telekom, a $3 billion cash breakup fee and make other compensation by giving T-Mobile spectrum and entering into a roaming agreement. Dallas-based AT&T also invested several months trying to get regulatory approvals for the merger, but the $39 billion deal began to unravel after the Justice Department sued in August to block the transaction.
Stankey, however, implied that AT&T isn't now second-guessing its decision to pursue the controversial merger, which made headlines in March 2011.
"It is unfortunate that we could not get the deal done but we have no regrets," The Financial Times quoted him as stating. "We don't have any second thoughts about that."
One executive, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, said at the investor conference he was pleased the deal collapsed. That's little wonder considering Sprint vociferously opposed a merger that would have significantly widened the gap in market share between the carrier and its bigger competitor AT&T.
"I think it is good for the industry," The Financial Times quoted Hesse as stating, "which in the long term is good for us."
