DOJ Requires Divestitures In AT&T-Centennial Communs Deal
October 13 2009 - 4:50PM
Dow Jones News
The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday cleared AT&T
Inc.'s (T) $944 million acquisition of Centennial Communications
Corp. (CYCL), but required AT&T to divest assets in Louisiana
and Mississippi as a condition of government approval.
The department's antitrust regulators said the divestitures were
needed to protect competition for mobile wireless
telecommunications services in those areas.
The AT&T-Centennial deal still needs the approval of the
Federal Communications Commission.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has declined to offer a solid
timeframe for the commission's approval, but staffers examining the
merger say they want to finish their recommendations quickly.
An AT&T spokesman did not immediately respond to a request
for comment.
-By Brent Kendall, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9222;
brent.kendall@dowjones.com