Sunday, December 25, 2011

AT&T drops T-Mobile bid, Microsoft tries to nix antitrust case

AT&T has dropped its bid to take over T-Mobile USA for $39 billion in the wake of opposition from government regulators who say the deal would violate antitrust laws.

The move by AT&T -- announced Monday afternoon -- was a stunning outcome for the telecom giant that had sought to buy Bellevue-based T-Mobile USA -- an American subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom. AT&T had underestimated the opposition it would face from government regulators and from competitors who feared what would become of the highly competitive wireless industry if the merger went through. The deal would have created the nation's largest carrier.

AT&T's decision to scrap its merger plan leaves T-Mobile in limbo. T-Mobile USA?s parent, Deutsche Telekom, is getting $3 billion in cash by the end of the year. And T-Mobile USA will get what Deutsche Telekom calls a ?large package of advanced wireless solutions spectrum? and a seven-year national roaming agreement that will allow T-Mobile to bring faster service to Seattle and other big cities.

The deal gives T-Mobile more time to figure out its future, including upgrading its network and finding a new partner.


Microsoft says that Novell Inc. has insufficient evidence to reasonably support its antitrust lawsuit against the Redmond software giant now that a jury has failed to reach a verdict in the case.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has used the annual Consumer Electronics Show as a platform for CEO Steve Ballmer to showcase his company?s latest hardware and software offerings.

But times are changing, and apparently Ballmer and Microsoft no longer need the exposure from the big tech trade show that it has dominated in the past with presentations and exhibits. Microsoft will make the upcoming 2012 CES show its last because it is relying more heavily on its own marketing campaigns and retail stores to reach its customers.


Here are a few things I am catching up on this week:

The Seattle Mariners are valued at $641 million, according to a Seattle divorce trial judge handling the case of Mariners minority owner Chris Larson, who made his fortune as a programmer at Microsoft

The Seattle Times reports that based on the $593 million sale of the Texas Rangers and $610 million sale of the Houston Astros this year, King Count Superior Court Judge William Downing estimated the Mariners were worth $641 million, considerably higher than the $449 million estimate by Forbes earlier this year.


Amazon?s Lovefilm division and Sony Pictures Television inked a content arrangement giving Lovefilm members in the UK exclusive streaming access to new and upcoming Sony Pictures titles like "The Social Network? and ?Salt.?

The deal between Lovefilm and Sony is the latest in a series of content deals in the UK. Others involve Warner Bros., Entertainment One, STUDIOCANAL, Disney, Momentum and Lionsgate.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TechFlash_ToddBishop/~3/Y8LnLIFKAHQ/att-drops-bid-for-t-mobile.html

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