Hearing postponed for AT&T, T-Mobile acquisition

We reported earlier that AT&T proposed an acquisition of T-Mobile and the status hearing will continue on September 21. The hearing will take place in Washington D.C. and all parties will discuss the prospects for settlement, according to the order by Judge Ellen S. Huvelle with the D.C. District Court. Everyone involved will have to file a joint proposed scheduling order and case management plan by September 16 to “facilitate the just, speed and inexpensive determination of all the pretrial matters and the trail of this case,” says the judge.

If this acquisition comes to fruition, it could make for a serious monopoly in the mobile carrier industry. Just a week ago, the Department of Justice sued to block the AT&T and T-Mobile merger pointing out the fact that the companies will “substantially lessen competition” in the cell phone market. The Department of Justice wants the court to find that AT&T’s $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile would violate U.S. antitrust laws; the Department would also hand over a court order to block the deal as it sees it unfit.  

Reports have also come out to say that AT&T is willing to sell off 25 percent of T-Mobile’s business and promise not to raise existing T-Mobile prices. However, if the deal does become null, it could make for some serious financial damages for AT&T. We’re talking at least $3 billion, according to the contract.

And in other news, Sprint sued AT&T this week to block its proposal to acquire T-Mobile and US Cellular filed with the FCC last week requiring AT&T to sell off some of its holdings would not be enough to make the deal legitimate. It’s going to be a rough month for AT&T; we’ll continue to keep you posted.